


Love Finds A Way

by LittleSweetCheeks



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: AU, Canon What Canon, Choices, Coming of Age, Fake Marriage, Family, Friendship, Haley is a Bitch, Internalized Homophobia, Multi, Paternal Dave, Smut, Virgin Aaron, self-sacrificing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-15
Updated: 2018-09-15
Packaged: 2019-07-12 16:50:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15999365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleSweetCheeks/pseuds/LittleSweetCheeks
Summary: If Aaron was good at one thing, it was denying himself to please others.





	Love Finds A Way

** Senior/Sophomore Year of High School **

Haley watched the boy who wandered into the theater closely. She couldn’t remember seeing him around before either at the school or at any of the hangouts she and her friends frequented. It made her curious. He was tall. She guessed well over six feet by the way he had to duck under some of the props taking up the main aisle, and gangly. All skin and bone, like his muscles hadn’t kept up with his growing body.

His eyes met hers and she felt herself blush as she looked away. His eyes were dark brown staring into her from behind a mop of long hair that hung in his face. When he spoke to the teacher, she looked back up again. His voice was deep, deeper than most of the boys she knew and when he smiled… She knew she was in serious trouble.

The teacher dismissed them and Haley started to gather her things from the front row of seats when his voice spoke behind her.

“Hello.”

“Oh!” She was surprised he was speaking to her. She jumped and spun around, smoothing the skirt she had worn that day. “Hello.” She could feel the blush creeping up again.

He smiled at her softly, like he was nervous. “I, um, I’m Aaron.”

“Haley.” She took some pity on him. “Are you new here?”

“No. Well, yes, technically I guess.” He chuckled. “My family has lived here all my life, but I was going to school out of state before. Talked my folks into letting me have my senior year at home.”

“Oh, well, that’s nice.” She picked up her bag and started to turn away.

“H-Haley?”

“Yes?” She turned again.

“I was wondering, um, I was thinking of going to the pizza place… Before heading home?” She could see his nervousness growing. “Would you… would you like to come?”

The invitation surprised her. They didn’t even know each other yet. “Are you asking me on a date?”

“I-I don’t…” He shrugged.

She reached out and placed a hand on his arm to stop his stuttering, his mouth closing sharply with a click of his teeth and a slight flinch. “Aaron. I’d love to go.” She smiled at him.

“Oh. Okay.” A bigger smile crossed his face. “My car is out in the lot off the football field.”

==

Haley had filled most of the conversation over pizza talking about herself when she finally took a breath. “So, tell me about you, Aaron.”

“Me?”

“Uh huh.”

“There’s, um, there’s not much to tell.” His eyes went to the pizza in front of him

“You said your family lived here. So? Any brothers or sisters?”

“I have a brother, he’s just a kid though.”

“And your parents?” She leaned forward to hear his soft, low voice, the gentle, rolling accent like music.

“My momma, she takes care of us. My dad, he was a lawyer.”

“Was?”

“He died over the summer. It’s how I convinced Momma to let me stay home for school.” He took a breath. “I’m going to be a lawyer, he would have wanted that.”

Her eyes lit up. “You’re going to be a lawyer?”

He nodded. “Momma said it will make him proud.”

“You’re going to be busy then.”

“I guess so.” He looked at his watch. “We should get going. I wouldn’t want your parents worrying about where you were.” He stood and pulled some money from his wallet and dropped it on the table.

Haley stood to follow him out, smiling again when he held the door open for her and then opened the car door as well. As they drove to her house, she couldn’t help but send up a thanks to whoever that her path had crossed with that of a soft-spoken future lawyer. It was like all her dreams were going to come true.

==

The air was brisk as it tended to be in the days leading up to Christmas in Virginia. Haley and Aaron had been dating, getting to know one another, for months now and she was excited to move their relationship along a little bit. He was proper and polite, which she loved, and he seemed to have had a strict upbringing that had taught him how to properly treat a woman. As she slipped into her outfit for their date that evening, ice skating, she reveled in the giddy feeling she always got when her thoughts drifted to Aaron.

Finishing getting ready, she moved to the living room to wait on him to pick her up. She knew he wouldn’t be late.

==

Aaron did his best to stay upright, wobbling on his ice skates, grinning and laughing at himself while Haley glided and spun around him. She hadn’t been kidding when she’d told him she loved to ice skate and she was pretty good as well. His ego was taking a slight bruising from it, but so far, he’d only fallen twice.

Haley whirled passed, brushing his arm as she did. The bump sent him reeling and a moment later, Aaron crashed to the ice in a pile of limbs and grunts. She couldn’t help but giggle as she slid to him, stopping with an apology. “I’m so sorry, Aaron. I didn’t mean to knock you over.”

“It’s okay.” He was blushing.

“Let me help you up.” She put out her hands.

“No. No, just give me a second. I think I’m going to go sit for a bit.” He slowly pushed up, carefully making sure he was steady before heading for the wall and exit. “You keep skating though, I love watching you.” He made it out and to the first bench.

She followed him out, carding her fingers through his hair, tipping his face up to her. “Are you sure? Because we can leave and go do something we’ll both enjoy.”

“No, you skate, I’ll watch.” He was smiling despite the smarting in his knee and hip. No need for her to know he got a little hurt. He was stunned stiff when she leaned forward and brushed her lips to his in a quick kiss before heading to the ice. He watched her skate, his mind whirling. He’d never considered their relationship going any further. Would she want to kiss again? Would she want more? He knew many of his friends were having sex, he had to listen to them discuss it on a regular basis. Haley was pretty and sweet, she was gentle and quiet while everyone else was loud and boisterous. He enjoyed spending time with her.

“You okay?”

He was snapped back to the present by her voice. “Why aren’t you still skating?”

She gave him a curious look. “I’ve been out there an hour, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You don’t look okay. Are you sure you didn’t hit your head or something?” She cupped his face, looking into his eyes. “I thought maybe we could get some cocoa before going home, but maybe we should call it a night early.”

“We can get cocoa.” He insisted and they both took off their skates to return. “If you want cocoa, we can get cocoa.”

“No, Aaron. I want to get you out of here.” She tugged him up. “My parents are away for the weekend, we can always have cocoa at my place of you insist.”

“You’re… You’re home alone? Is that safe?”

“I’ll be fine.” She shrugged. “But if you want to be my knight in shining armor and stay to protect me, well, then who am I to say no?”

==

Haley strolled back into the living room wearing much less than when she’d left. Aaron was stretched out in front of the fire, back against the heavy sofa and a plate of cookies on the table nearby, their cocoa cooling beside it. Stepping over his legs, she sat down onto his lap, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck. “Hey.”

Aaron swallowed. “Hi. You changed.”

She shrugged one shoulder innocently. “It wasn’t comfortable. Is this okay?”

“Sure.” He rested his hands on her hips to keep her steady. “It’s just a bit chilly is all.”

“Well, then maybe we should do something to keep me warm.”

His brows pulled together. “Like?”

“Like this.” She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. After a moment, she realized he wasn’t kissing her back. He was still sitting stiffly, frozen. She sat back. “What’s wrong?”

“I- I’ve never…” He blushed.

“You’ve never, what? Kissed someone?”

He shook his head.

It was adorable to her. “Well, you can’t really get it wrong.” She started to lean in again, but he ducked his head away. She frowned but wasn’t about to be dissuaded so easily. Shifting her weight, she rocked against him, expecting to feel his hardness pushing against the front of his slacks but felt nothing. Rocking back, she gave the top of his head a confused look. “Aaron?”

“I’m sorry, Hales.” He looked up, tears in his eyes. “I’m so sorry. I can’t… I sorry.”

“I- I don’t understand.” She slid to the floor, allowing his to stand and pace. She’d never seen him look so agitated before. “Aaron?”

He finally stopped, running one hand through his hair and he looked in her general direction but not actually at her. “You’re you and I’m not… Not attracted to…” He started to breathe in short gasping bursts. “Oh god, I never expected it to be this hard.” He turned away.

Her mind was racing to work it all out. He wasn’t attracted to… The tumblers fell into place. “You’re gay?” The idea almost horrified her.

Her question made him pale and dart for the small bathroom off the main room.

She stared at the closed door until he finally returned. “Aaron?”

He looked marginally better now. “No one can know. Please? Please don’t ever tell anyone? I don’t care what you say about why we split, say I was controlling or I was mean, but please! Please don’t tell anyone?”

She was nodding before she had time to process. “Wait, what? We’re splitting up?”

Tears pricked his eyes. “Well, yeah. I understand.”

“Aaron. Come sit, talk to me.” She waited for him to finally give in and join her on the couch. “Are you sure?”

“Sure?”

“That’s you’re gay.”

He nodded. “I’ve never been attracted to girls.”

She took his hand. “But you’ve been attracted to boys?”

He nodded again.

“Why did you even talk to me then?”

“Because I’m not supposed to be into boys. My parents wouldn’t allow me to stay in the family if they knew.” He sagged. “I sometimes wonder if my dad didn’t suspect.”

She frowned but didn’t press. “Okay.”

“Okay?” He was confused by her seeming acceptance of his declaration. “We won’t ever have sex. I’m not good at anything, I know I’m awkward about all of it.”

“Well, I’m not sure about awkward. You’re sweet, kind, considerate. I always feel special when we’re out together.”

“You do?”

“Yeah, I do. So.” She shrugged. “Forget the sex, forget the kissing. How about holding hands?”

Aaron felt some of his limited confidence working back in. “We can do that.”

“And cuddling?”

“Cuddling?”

She pressed on his shoulder until he leaned back into the cushions before curling into his side. “Like this.”

His arm was wrapped around her small, warm body. “Yeah, we can cuddle. Cuddling in nice.”

Neither of them spoke for a while, Haley’s free hand traced patterns on Aaron’s sweater, staying above his belt even though that hadn’t been the plan at the start of the evening. “So, if your family doesn’t know, do they expect you to do the whole proper family thing?”

“Yes.”

“How are you going to manage that?”

“I have no idea.” He rested his head on top of hers, watching the fire dance. “Momma already parades women in front of me at parties. Her Christmas party will be no different.”

“You haven’t told her about me?”

“No. I didn’t want her to scare you.”

She sat up. “Maybe it’s time to change that.”

“Are you sure?”

Haley smiled at him. “Yes.”

==

Aaron paced nervously near the front door until his mother tired of him and shooed him away into the study. When the doorbell finally rang, he hurried to answer it before him mother caught up. “Hey.” His breath caught looking at Haley all dolled up for Christmas. Her dress was dark green, elegant and tasteful. Her hair was swept up behind one ear.

“Hey, you. Am I late?” She handed him her coat.

“No, right on time.”

“Aaron?” A voice announced his mother coming. “Who was at the door?” She stopped in the entry. “And who, may I ask, is this young woman?”

He exchanged a glance with Haley, her smile and slight nod galvanizing him. “This is Haley, Momma, my girlfriend.”

==

Spring break had brought with it weather warm enough down by the river to make everyone want to strip down and jump in. Haley and Aaron were on the far side of the water, watching classmates takes turns.

Turning, she watched him watching the boys, dressed in nearly nothing. They didn't really talk about it, instead focusing on making them appear like any ordinary couple, but in this moment, she recognized a look of desire and want he never had when he looked at her.

“Have you ever fantasized?”

“Hmm?” He glanced her way.

She waved at the swimmers. “Have you ever fantasized? I mean, you're still a teenage boy, surely sex isn't far from your mind.”

“I, umm.” He blushed and looked away.

Haley giggled. “It's okay you know. I do too.” She ducked her head to meet his eyes. “What do you dream of?”

His blush deepened and he shook his head. “I- I can't.”

She curled into his side and tucked her head under his chin. “I always imagine that I'm naked in my bed, on my back. Whatever guy it is, he is naked too and he kisses and nips up my legs and it tickles. He has to hold my legs still or else I'll accidentally knock him off the bed. He crawls up until he's kissing me.” She stopped to breathe. “I can feel...him, bumping against me.” It was her turn to blush, too embarrassed to say out loud that she imagined a dick touching her where only her own hands hand been so far. “He knows I’m scared and he’s a gentleman, so he doesn’t pressure me.” She hopes when she finally gets the chance, that’s the case. She can’t see Aaron’s eyes slip shut as her fantasy starts to play in his mind.

He imagines a thinner boy, he’s never been into the jocks and athletes in their school. He had had more than enough manhandling in his life already.

“Instead, he slips back down and presses his mouth there.” She had to squeeze her thighs together now.

Aaron imagines the head of the boy with no face moving down, taking his dick in his mouth. He groaned before he realized he’d done it.

Haley sat up quickly and turned. Aaron had his head dropped back, eyes closed and mouth slightly open. He was panting silently. Her eyes raked over him and saw his jeans were straining, the size of the bulge making her eyes widen. She couldn’t help but wonder if he was as huge as it looked. “Aaron.” She said his name.

His head snapped up, his eyes open. His free left hand moved quickly to hide the bulge in his pants. “I’m sorry.” He blushed.

She stroked his chest. “It’s okay. I guess you liked my fantasy as well?”

Aaron nodded silently, trying to mentally will his boner away. He looked out across the river, the sight of the wet, scantily dressed boys made his member twitch and grown harder so he opted for squeezing his eyes shut. “Shit.”

Unsure what to say to help him, their boundaries had improved greatly, but there were still lines, Haley instead pushed up onto her knees and pulled his face close to her shoulder so she could speak into his ear. “What did you like? Were you imagining a guy kissing you as well?”

His eyes stayed closed. “Yes.”

She had no idea how two guys would have sex, she wasn’t interested in knowing really but Aaron was special to her. “Tell me. What’s he doing to you?”

“His… His mouth. He’s sucking me.” Aaron’s hips shifted and he felt a damp spot form in his briefs right at the head.

“He’s giving you a blowjob? Is he good at it?”

His answer was a low moan and then he blocked Haley out entirely. He didn’t fantasize often. He’d learned years ago that being gay was not an option and by extension, looking at anything that could be considered homosexual. Straight porn magazines just didn’t do it for him. Instead he’d learned to simply ignore his body’s urges until they became so strong that he had to find somewhere private to rub it out of his system. At home, that had been in the shower, at the boarding school it had been in the wee hours of the morning in a toilet stall. He wasn’t about to be one of the guys who jacked off in bed, not sharing a room with three other boys, and he wasn’t about to be caught in the showers with a boner.

His hand stroked the front of his jeans and his mind created a vision of a boy, thin but muscled, bones jutting out. The man never had a face but his dirty blonde hair was always long, almost to his shoulders. It brushed against Aaron’s skin as he knelt, naked, between his legs, mouth working his dick hard. He wondered where his mind had come up with this boy, as far as he knew, he’d never met someone who looked like that before. In his mind, he looked down at where rosy pink lips were wrapped around his cock and that was it, Aaron was finished. With a cry, he came, pulsing hot and sticky inside his jeans and briefs.

Haley was still kneeling beside Aaron, having watched the whole, short show. She tried to keep her jaw from dropping at just how amazing he’d looked coming, the features of his face relaxing as the dark spot on his pants grew. Unable to hold back, she reached out and touched the damp spot, making Aaron’s eyes snap open.

He was mortified. “I’m so sorry.” He tried to scramble up but she grabbed his arm.

“Wait. Aaron.” She finally got him to sit back down. “It was fine, I was just surprised is all.” Her eyes drifted to his pants. “I’ve…” She blushed. “I’ve never actually had…sex. I’ve never been around a guy when that happened.” She lifted her eyes to his. “Is it always like that?”

Aaron shrugged. “Guess so.”

Haley chewed her lip. “Could I…see? Sometime?”

“See?” He wasn’t sure what she was asking.

“Your, umm.” She blushed, unable to finish her question.

His eyes widened. “This?” His voice broke on the word and he cleared his throat. “You want to see…me? Naked?”

She nodded.

He shifted uncomfortably. The come in his pants was cooling, making him feel sticky and dirty. “Are, um, are your parents still out of town?”

Surprised by the question, she stared at him a moment. “Yes. For the rest of the week.”

He shifted around again. “Maybe I could shower at your place?”

==

Haley sat on her bed nervously while watching Aaron who was standing just inside her attached bathroom. He was slowly peeling his clothes off, shirts, socks and shoes, then finally jeans and underwear. Dropping everything to the floor, he stood before his girlfriend totally naked for the first time. He fought the urge to cover himself from her gaze.

She looked him over from head to toe like it was the first time seeing him again. His dark hair was still long, hanging not quite in his dark eyes. He had to rake his fingers through it to brush it back from time to time. He was still thin, cheekbones and jaw as prominent as his collarbone, shoulders, and hips. He was more toned now, his chest and abs slightly defined but not enough to tell when he was dressed. She could barely make out the dusting of hair over his torso until it converged into a line that drew her eyes straight to his dick. Using the terms her friends did, she suspected he was what they always called a show-er. He was impressively big even as it hung soft between his legs. She had to force her eyes away from it and his balls and finish her curious gaze down before returning to meet his eyes. “Hey.” She whispered.

When he blushed, it flamed his entire body pink and then nearly red. “Hey.”

“Take your shower then.”

He nodded and stepped into the tub, ready to end the uncomfortable moment. Under the water he wondered again about the boy from his imagination and how he’d created him. When he popped into Aaron’s mind, his body instantly began to respond again. There was no way he was going to wank in Haley’s bathroom with her just a thin curtain away so he chose to just pretend it wasn’t there and hoped it would go away.

Satisfied with his quick rinse, he toweled off and stepped into her bedroom. He didn’t have any extra clothes and Haley had offered to wash what he’d had on, so for now he was left naked and, despite his opinions of the matter, mostly erect.

Haley return from the laundry room just as her boyfriend raised the towel to dry his hair giving her an unobstructed view for the first time of his dick jutting out and up. “Oh, wow.” Her words made him spin on his heel and drop the towel to cover himself. “I’m sorry.” It was her turn this time. “It’s just so…wow. May I?”  She put her hand out.

His brow furrowed. “You want to…?”

She nodded tightly.

After a moment’s deliberation, he dropped the towel and waited, his eyes closing when her fingertips touched his erection and then, slowly, her hand wrapped around it.

“Wow.” She repeated. “It’s… I don’t know what I expected.”

He wanted to shift away. Her hand felt odd, so small around him, it was off-putting and he felt himself softening. A moment later she pulled away, he couldn’t meet her gaze.

“It’s, um, it’s late. Do you want to- to sleep here?” She waved at the bed.

Aaron wasn’t sure if he should say no or not and Haley looked so hopeful. “Okay.”

==

Haley woke up wrapped in strong arms and relaxed into the feeling. She’d slept in a cami and her underwear while Aaron’s clothes hadn’t been done in the dryer by the time they’d fallen asleep. Instead she’d pulled out a second sheet and he’d slept under one and she on top of it and under the other, giving them both a barrier to help with their combined nervousness. Rolling onto her side, she snuggled back and let him pull her even closer in his sleep. It was nearly everything she thought there should be in a relationship.

==

Redressed, Aaron sat at the kitchen table the following morning while Haley poured bowls of cereal and then joined him.

“You’re going to go off to college in the fall.”

“Yeah.” He nodded and began to eat.

“What happens if people find out? About you. Won’t that affect your career?”

He chewed his lip. “It could.”

She drew in a breath, steeling herself. “What if you were already married?”

“Married?”

“Or if you had plans to be married. If you are single, won’t you be expected to pursue women? Find an eventual wife? Someone to host parties and may you look good in front of partners?”

“Yeah, I guess so. There are guys who never get married though.”

She gave him a look. “I have an idea. Hear me out and then think on it. If you decide you like the idea, you’ll know just how to tell me.”

“Okay, what’s your idea?”

Putting her spoon in her bowl, Haley pressed both palms into the table. “We could get married, you and I. You get a pretty wife to host parties and show off to bosses and whatever else and no one will be any the wiser and I get a lawyer husband to brag about. And when either of us meets someone more to our tastes, we’re honest with one another and we keep it very quiet.”

“A pretend marriage?”

She nodded.

“I don’t know, Haley. It sounds like a bad idea.”

“Like I said, think about it. I have two more years of high school anyway so you have at least two years to think on it. You go to college in August and if you have a roommate or something that wants to drag you out, well, you have a convenient girlfriend at home.”

“And what about you? This doesn’t sound very fair to you. Like you said, you have two years left of school. You shouldn’t be tied down with not just a boyfriend away at college, but a gay one at that. I honestly don’t know why you’ve been with me this whole year as it is.”

“Well, I’ve listened to my friends talking about some of their dates and none of them have had a guy doing half the stuff you do. Becky had one date where her guy snuck beer into the theater and then tried to rough her up in the dark. I- I worry about something like that happening, it makes me nervous to date. There are stories of guys putting stuff in drinks and the girl can’t remember anything the next morning, can you believe that?” She stared up at him, eyes wide. “There are all these stories and they scare me a little, but you’re safe. You’re sweet and polite and fun, Aaron.”

“You shouldn’t stay with me just because you’re afraid, Hales.”

“Okay. I won’t hide behind the idea of staying with you because you’re safe if you do me a favor?”

“What’s that?”

“Don’t be afraid to look around for someone who makes you happy too. Even if you have to keep it secret.”

“Okay. I can do that.”

==

The summer sun hung high in the sky as Haley danced into her parents’ kitchen. “Look Daddy!” She held up her hand to show off the simple silver band.

“What is that?” Roy frowned.

“Aaron wanted to give me something to remember him by before he left for college.”

“Why’s he giving you an engagement ring? He knock you up?” His frown grew.

“No, Daddy! We haven’t even…” She blushed. “We haven’t even done anything. He just wanted to give me this.”

He huffed. “Fine. I’m not sure you should be waiting around for him though, I have a bad feeling about that boy.”

==

Haley found Aaron in his room packing and knocked on the door frame. “Hey you.”

He looked up and smiled. “Hey! What are you doing here?”

She shrugged. “I showed Daddy the ring you gave me.”

His face fell. “And?”

“He asked if you got me pregnant. He’s a little protective.” She finally entered his room and sat on the bed by the boxes. “You about ready to go?”

“I think so.”

“Well, we can talk on the phone and you’ll be home for breaks, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“And I can come visit you there maybe?”

“I’d like that.”

==

** Freshman College/Junior HS **

==

The first few months of college had been only marginally different to military school. He only had one roommate, a guy who insisted on going by Bo, and there was little adult supervision, but other things were very much the same.

The constant access to porn magazines was a difference though. It seemed like every guy had them, an open secret.

Deciding to try and fit in, Aaron wandered off campus late one afternoon as the leaves were changing colors and headed toward town. He found a small, out of the way book store and headed in. The idea of buying porn magazines made him blush, but he was determined to come across as normal. He picked up two, not really caring which ones, before a third caught his eye. It was all gay men together. The prospect made his heart race as he paid and waited for his bag before rushing back to his dorm. Slamming the door shut, he waved at Bo. “I need you to leave.”

“What?” Bo gave his usually quiet roommate an odd look.

Aaron help up the paper bag. “Go.”

Bo smirked. “Been shopping, huh? Fine, I’ll go.” He gathered some books and left.

Locking the door, Aaron pulled the magazine out and tossed everything else aside before flopping back on his bed. Nervously, he started to flip through the pages until he realized his jeans were getting uncomfortably tight. Quickly, he undid the button and zipper and shoved them down to his knees along with his briefs. His dick stood tall and proud.

Flipping through the pages some more, Aaron stopped on one where a man was sucking off his partner, lips tight around the thick, hard cock. It was his one recurring fantasy, to be buried in someone’s mouth as he came instead of his own hand. He studied the picture. Both men were aroused, dicks jutting out from their bodies. The one doing the sucking was almost flat on his back except for his head was up on a pillow. The other was kneeling over the first’s chest and was guiding his own dick into that mouth. Aaron wondered what it would feel like in that position, he’d only ever wanked standing up in the bathroom or laying in his bed. Kicking his pants free and shedding his shirt, Aaron scrambled up and moved the bedding around until he was seated in a position like the picture. Finding the lotion in his bedside table, he slathered his left hand up before grabbing the headboard with his right. Closing his eyes, Aaron imagined his hand was the mouth just like in the picture and fucked into it, taking in the feel of his hips and abs working him until he felt a ball of arousal pooling in his pelvis. He tried to prolong it as long as he could, biting his lip as he fucked into that mouth, teetering on the edge until he couldn’t hold back any longer. He came with a shout all over his pillow, the headboard, and some of the wall beside him.

Spent, he tipped backward onto the mattress and stared up at the ceiling, panting for breath. He’d never felt so good before after jacking off. Turning his head, he eyed the magazine and wondered what else he could try.

==

Over Thanksgiving break, Bo had taken the week off leaving Aaron the room alone. On a whim, Aaron invited Haley up and snuck her onto his floor. They guy who was supposed to be watching them had a reputation of being lousy at the job and easy to bribe anyway. He helped Haley settle in before asking her how she’d been.

“School’s been good. The girls can’t believe you actually gave me a ring, even if it’s just a plain band.”

“You- you really wear it?” There was surprise in his voice.

“Of course, Aaron, you gave it to me, it’s special.”

He knelt on the floor in front of her and hesitantly placed his hands around her waist. “You’re special.” He turned his face up to her.

“Can I…” She placed her hands on his cheeks. “Can I kiss you?”

His breath caught. “You want to kiss me?”

“I haven’t really…kissed guys. I just wondered what it’s like. Have- have you kissed anyone really?”

“No.”

“Don’t you wonder?”

He thought a minute. “Sometimes.”

She shrugged. “Do you think it would be weird? To kiss me? Even though I’m not a guy?”

“I don’t know.” He chewed his lip as he thought. “We can try.”

She was surprised at his answer but leaned in, brushing her lips against his. They stilled, hesitated, both with their eyes closed before their lips met again, this time more insistent.

Aaron imagined one of the models from the magazine as tongues pressed against one another. He imagined being on his knees in front of the guy from the newest edition, between spread legs, a cock teasing his stomach and felt himself harden in his pants. He’d mentally named the man John in his mind, trying to play out the fantasy a bit for when he stroked one out to it. Lost in the sensations and images in his mind, Aaron began to rut against the side of the mattress. It felt good and not enough all at the same time.

Haley felt his body moving and dropped one hand from his face to guide his own hand away from her side and to the bulge in his pants. She was getting worked up herself, but didn’t want to ruin whatever was in his mind by pulling away. She could feel in the movement between them as he freed himself and began to move his hand and hips. Breaking the kiss, Haley tucked her face into his neck so she was out of his potential line of sight, sucking and nipping at his neck instead. She was curious, wanted to see what a man looked like when he was jacking off and came. When the sounds Aaron was making changed, got higher and more desperate, she tucked her chin and rested her forehead against his collar bone. In the odd shadows she could see his thick cock in his hand, end glistening with fluids. He began to speak, to cry out, calling for someone named John and then Johnny before arching back and giving her a full view as he came, painting the side of the bed with fluids.

Haley was speechless. Whatever she’d imagined an orgasm would look like, that hadn’t been close. As he sank back and away from her, she could feel the wetness pooling in her panties. She tried to shift to make the feeling go away, but it wouldn’t. Chewing her own lip, she fisted the sheets, unsure if rubbing herself off here would be okay or not.

Aaron’s eyes opened and took in the look on Haley’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“I- um.” She blushed. “I just need to…” She swallowed.

“Oh. Go ahead.”

“What?”

With his clean hand, he gestured to the bed. “It’s only fair, go ahead.”

Scooting back, Haley lost her pants as fast as she could. She watched Aaron stand, dick still in hand, as he started to clean up the mess he’d made. She didn’t draw it out, her fingers instantly doing what needed done to tumble her over the edge. Panting, she opened her eyes and met his. “Who’s John?”

“Huh?”

“You called out for John. Who’s John?”

“Oh.” He blushed and pulled out the magazine. “Him. I don’t know his real name so I gave him one.”

She started to speak but someone started banging on their door.

“Open up! I heard a girl’s voice in there so don’t try to hide from me!”

Aaron paled. “Shit! It’s the dorm monitor!” He quickly did up his pants and used his body to block view into the room as he opened the door. “Yeah?” He greeted the guy with jet black hair.

“Girls aren’t allowed on this floor, you know the rules.” He had a clipboard in his hand. “I want her out and then I’m writing you up! Another stunt like this and you could be in serious trouble.”

Haley couldn’t help but snicker when Aaron returned to her side.

“What?”

She shook her head. “Only you, Aaron, could manage to be a gay guy who gets into trouble for having sex with a girl in your dorm room.”

He blushed hard. “Well, at the least word of this might get the rumors to ease up.”

==

** Sophomore College/Senior HS **

==

The first clue Aaron had that something had changed was that Haley was no longer wearing the simple ring he’d given her when she showed up on his doorstep. It was Christmas break and he was home from his second year of college. Patiently, he listened to her tell him all about Charlie and what a gentleman he was, how many dates they’d been on. He tried to be happy for her, he really did, but he was a little sad and worried that he was losing his best friend.

She turned up anyway to his Momma’s Christmas Eve party, dressed in a lovely red dress that hugged her figure. He could see other young men watching her but she remained close to him, letting him wrap his around protectively around her.

When he went to drive her home, his Momma warned him with a smirk to not be out too late. Whatever they were doing, if they were still doing it, seemed to have everyone fooled.

He thought back to that first visit she’d made to him at college. He’d come home at Christmas and things had been a little awkward, like neither of them knew if they would do that again. Or even if they wanted to. She’d joined him again in the spring, by then he had a new dorm monitor who wasn’t as much of a stickler for the rules. They never went beyond cuddling, sometimes in just their underwear, and watching movies.

Summer had been a different matter though. No sooner had he arrived home at the beginning of June, then Haley had begged him to take her again to the river and watch kids jumping into the water. It had become their special place of sorts. Roy had made it clear he still didn’t like him, nor trusted him, but Haley was old enough now to be making her own choices.

Sitting under the trees, out of sight and in a mess of blankets, Haley had turned to him.

_“I was wondering.” She looked nervous. “I don’t want graduate as a virgin. That feels like I’ve missed out on something.”_

_“What’s the big deal? It’s just sex, you’ll get lots of that when you’re older.”_

_Her lip jutted out slightly. “But I don’t want to wait till I’m older.”_

_“Okay. I’m sure there are plenty of guys willing at school, ask one on a date. You’re beautiful, you’ll get a good guy.”_

_“But…”_

_He eyes her. “What?”_

_Her voice dropped. “I trust you.”_

_“You do understand what being gay is, right? You can’t come along and think you can change me, Hales.”_

_“No, I know. I just… I know you have some fantasies, you’ve told me about them. I didn’t know if there was a way we could try.”_

_“No. There’s not.”_

_She nodded. “I know. I’m just afraid.”_

_“Of?”_

_She shrugged. “Being hurt.”_

_“Oh, Hales.” He pulled her close and hugged her, pressing a kiss to her neck. “You’ll be just fine.”_

By the time the fireworks happened, he and Haley had managed to score a couple bottles of booze and drunkenly decide to try and make fireworks of their own in their secret spot up on the ridge. The alcohol, his teenaged libido, and the pages of the magazine he’d tucked into the roll of blankets had him ready to go quickly. He’d closed his eyes and tuned Haley out as she stripped and got started as well. He let the fantasy, the old one, play out. The young man with long hair stroking his hands over Aaron’s body. Aaron knew he was drunk, he wasn’t a big drinker anyway, not after growing up with his father, but he’d pressed more into himself than he’d ever done before.

As he had desperately stroked himself, looking for release as the sun started to set, different hands had been on him. He’d stilled as something hot and wet bumped the tip of his dick and then slid down, enveloping him. Surprised, his eyes had popped open to see Haley rocking on him, her fingers rubbing herself off as she moved. He felt himself instantly softening as she quickly began to come around him. The sensations had been all wrong, the pool of need had vanished and had been replaced with a horrible wave of anxiety. Scrambling backward, he’d done his best to not topple her off the blanket as he’d tried to get away.

It had been wrong, really wrong. No amount of alcohol had made their horrible idea into a good one. They’d spent the rest of the night curled in separate blankets, not talking.

The remainder of the summer had been stilted. She hadn’t come to visit over Thanksgiving.

And now she had Charlie.

He put the car into park out front of her house and turned. “Charlie sounds like a lucky guy.”

Haley stopped talking and smiled. “He wants to, you know, do things.” She ducked her head. “I told him I wasn’t ready yet.”

“If you’re not ready, then you’re not. Don’t let him pressure you.”

“He’s not. He’s been really great about it.”

“He sounds great then.”

She nodded. “I’m sorry I forgot your ring tonight.” She was staring at her bare hands.

“It’s okay, it’s yours to keep.”

“What?” She looked up. “That’s- that’s not what I meant. I meant to wear it. I wear it every other day.”

“Doesn’t Charlie mind?”

“No? He hasn’t really asked about it.”

“Oh.”

She studied him a minute in the silence. “I kind of want to? I just wish you could be there somehow.”

“Like, what? A threesome? Guys usually aren’t into that.”

“I know.”

He sighed. “If you want to be with him, be with him. That was our deal, right?”

“Yeah.” She echoed his sigh and started to get out. “I just… I think I love you though.”

==

New Year’s Eve started out better than the Fourth of July had. For a start, Aaron was the only one who had been drinking and that had only been two beers to calm his nerves. He sat in the living room of Haley’s parents’ house while she led Charlie, who wasn’t a bad guy despite Aaron’s desire to hate him, upstairs to her room.

At first the house was quiet and Aaron wondered what was going on. Was one of them changing their mind? He was just about to pop open a third beer when he heard Haley cry out softly, breathily. Then her bed began to creak.

Grabbing his beer, Aaron wandered upstairs and to the bathroom almost across the hall from Haley’s room. Jacking off in a bathroom he could do, he was a pro at it. Closing his eyes, he pulled himself out of his pants and poured lotion that was on the counter in his hand. Gripping himself, he began to harden. Blocking out the sounds drifting across the hall, Aaron jerked himself off, gritting his teeth as he neared completion.  Just as his seed began to spill into his hand, so as to not mess up the rug, Aaron heard Haley cry out as she came. She called his name, not Charlie’s. He wasn’t sure if that made him feel good or not.

==

** After Junior in College/After Freshman in College **

==

They both giggled as they stumbled into the honeymoon suite that had been reserved for them right on the beach. The wedding had gone off without a hitch, no one was the wiser. Shutting and locking the door, Haley turned her back to Aaron and asked him to help her get out of the heavy gown. Once she was down to a slip and nothing else, she sank back onto the bed, arms spread wide. “Now what do we do?”

Aaron finished disrobing himself and hopped down beside her. “Well, there are over three hundred people assuming we are going to spend the next week having sex, starting tonight.”

She turned her head to him and studied his face. “I know. And about Christmas my mother will start pestering me about babies even as Daddy insists I finish college first.”

“Kids, wow. Not ready for that.”

She laughed. “Me neither. I have one more year for this degree and I can extend that to another two. That buys us three years where we can blame it on my education.”

Aaron chuckled. “Well, I have this year and then three years of law school. So even though I started before you, I will have another year after you finish.”

“So, we have four years then to blame on education.”

“Yeah.” He rolled onto his back and let her cuddle into him. “Of course, law school is expensive. It would be irresponsible to have a kid before we could afford it.” He could feel her smile against his chest. “Do you want kids?”

“Eventually. Maybe two or three.”

“Yeah?”

She nodded. “What about you?”

“I’ve never thought about it.” He stared at the ceiling. “Kids might be nice.”

She snuggled closer. “We’ll figure it out one day.”

==

** Six Years Later **

==

Aaron rushed into the house right as the grandfather clock in the living room declared it six o’clock. “Haley? I know I’m running late, I’m sorry.” He dropped his briefcase by the door and hurried through the small house in search of his wife. “There you are.” He found her in the kitchen and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “The only good news though is that Jameson was still on the phone with a judge when I left, and he still has to stop by home and pick up his wife.”

She patted his cheek. “Run clean up then.” She watched him rush to the bedroom to do just that. Aaron had landed a job right out of college with the prosecutor’s office and things had been going well. Haley quickly gained a reputation for throwing wonderful dinner parties and it made Aaron quite popular around the office. Pulling the last dish out of the oven, she shed her apron and followed her husband into the bedroom. “How was work today?”

“Okay. Busy.” He retied his tie so that it hung straight again. “How was your day?”

She shrugged. “Good. I had coffee with Dan.”

“Oh?” He turned around to face her directly instead of in the mirror. Dan was a man Haley had met once they had gotten settled in their new house and Aaron liked him well enough. As far as Haley has shared, the pair hadn’t taken that final step yet, but they did talk fairly often.

“He broke things off. He had some concerns about this. Us.”

Crossing the room, he squeezed her shoulder. “I’m sorry, I know you liked him. Listen, if you’re not up for dinner tonight, I can call and reschedule it.” His eyes were full of worry and he looked her over.

“No, the food’s done. We’ll do this and this weekend we can deal with Dan.”

“If you’re sure.”

Fifteen minutes later, Aaron’s boss and his wife stepped through the door and the younger couple stepped right into their comfortable routine as a sweet, newly married couple. They always had everyone fooled.

Until David Rossi.

==

The first time Aaron met the legendary agent, he was walking a crime scene. They’d exchanged professional pleasantries and little more before trying to work on the many dead ends their case ran them into. Eventually, however, the case ran cold and he heard that Rossi was headed back to D.C. and didn’t think much of it until the man himself appeared at the edge of Aaron’s desk and invited him out for a drink.

That evening, the two men were seated in a bar close to Aaron’s apartment.

“So.” Dave started. “Tell me a bit about yourself.”

Aaron shrugged. “Not much to tell.”

“I don’t know about that.” Dave mused. “How about I tell you what I do know already. Huh? Virginian born and raised, one brother, father passed away.” He let his eyes run over the younger man. “You were taught proper southern manners and it shows through it how you interact with everyone. You have a reputation already of not destroying others in the pursuit of your own ambitions, and it’s well known that you have ambitions that extend beyond Seattle. Perhaps landing you in the Hoover Building itself?”

Aaron ducked his head. “You’re good.”

“Ah.” He shrugged, waving off the compliment. “Half guessing, half reading your file. What surprised me about you though, is your natural ability to read people, to profile. You were making connections on this case before anyone else could catch up to you. You’re more than just good, you have a talent.”

Aaron frowned. “Thank you.”

“I invited you out to make a pitch. We’re expanding the unit, making a team. Of profilers. Agents who study behavior and work to get ahead of these guys before they can cause more damage. Now, there’d be some travel involved, but we’re hoping to make a nice group.”

“We?”

“Agent Jason Gideon.” He saw Aaron’s brows rise. “You’ve heard of him.”

“Yes.” He began to twist the ring on his finger. “I’d need to talk to my wife. We just got really settled out here, I’m not sure how she’d feel about uprooting again.”

Dropping cash on the table, Dave stood. “Well, let’s go talk to her then.”

“Now?” He swore his voice didn’t just squeak.

A brow arched. “You know of a better time?”

==

Aaron gave Haley a heads up as David followed him the short distance to their house. He didn’t know if she had other plans for the evening.

Dave watched as he entered their home, how the young blonde woman greeted her husband a tad too enthusiastically and too affectionately. He caught the small touches she willingly dusted over Aaron and how Aaron seemed hesitant to return them. Like he wasn’t sure where to touch.

The whole evening, as he explained to Haley his invitation for Aaron to return to Virginia and work within the BAU, Dave observed them together, something niggling at the back of his mind. With the experience brought on by three ex-wives, he took in the dance they did. At no point in any of his marriages, in any of his relationships for that matter, were he and any of his partners that…forced. It was almost like he was watching a play that had been rehearsed over and over again.

When he returned to Virginia days later, Dave did some more digging into the younger agent, curious by what he did and didn’t find.

==

Aaron had taken to the BAU like a fish to water, it had thrilled Dave to no end that his feeling had paid off. He still watched the younger man and his wife closely, but nothing came up that helped solidify the feeling he had that there was more than met the eye. That was until a case in California when several things happened in a short about of time. The first anomaly about that case was the team was forced to double up, putting him in a room with Hotch. The two were almost thick as thieves though so neither were bothered by it.

The second anomaly though, that took Dave longer to work out.

==

Dave stepped into the room quietly, he could hear Aaron on the phone seated on the bed and he didn’t want to disturb him. Carefully he entered the bathroom and pushed the door shut, turning the shower on for good measure. Through the cheap paneling, he could hear his coworker talking.

“I’m glad you guys are getting along, Hales, he’s a good guy… Yeah, I know, but he and I talked before I left, and I tried to explain it, just give him time...” Dave heard him chuckle. “Fine, if you and Ted stay together that long, I’ll let you set me up with someone.” Dave’s brows went up. “It wasn’t that I hated Will, he was just…umm…. a bit too eager.” There was a longer pause as Haley talked. “I think to be celibate, it would mean no one man band shows either.” Dave had never so regretted eavesdropping on something in his life. “Dave is in the shower, he’ll be out any minute… Look, I promise that when I get home I will actually go out.”

Not wanting to hear more, Dave stripped quickly and stepped under the spray, taking the fastest shower he’d ever managed, because Hotch would notice if he didn’t smell of soap. Stepping out again, he suddenly realized that in his attempt to be discrete, he didn’t have any clean clothes. With a shrug, Dave slung a towel around his waist and stepped out. On one bed, Aaron was reclined, squinting at a case file.

“Hey.” Aaron greeted absently.

Dave stared at him, this new information settling into those curious holes in his mind. “Put that away?”

“Uhh.” Aaron did so, sitting up. “What’s up?”

Getting dressed, Dave pondered for a minute. “I want to grab a drink. This case has been horrible, and I need to forget for a couple hours. Let’s walk to that place around the corner.”

“Uhh, yeah, sure.”

Two hours later, Dave was only on his second scotch, but his drinking partner was requiring the assistance of the bar to stay upright. “Okay, Aaron, let’s get you back.”

“M’okay.” He slurred, even as he let Dave haul him to his feet and back to their room. “M’fine.” He mumbled.

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.” It was playing dirty, he knew that. “How are you and Haley doing?”

“Good.”

“Who’s Ted?”

Aaron’s eyes drifted shut. “Haley’s boyfriend I think. They’ve been outta few times…’S getting’ serious. She is plannin’ on spending the night at his place.”

The sound of that turned something in Dave’s gut. “Why?”

A sloppy grin crossed his face. “She likes sex but doesn’t like to do it in our house.”

“Aren’t you enough?”

The grin turned into a giggle. “We don’t have sex. Our marriage is uncos- uncosnu-unco…”

“Stop, Aaron, before you hurt yourself. I get the picture.” He frowned. “Is there a problem?”

The giggling returned. “Yeah.” He hiccoughed.

“With her or you?”

“Me. I’m broken.” The giggling stopped, it was replaced by a different sort of sound. “I’m broken, and she loves me anyway, I don’t know why.”

“So, you let her be with Ted.”

“Least I could do since she’s willing to love such a broken, useless, waste of a man.” His arms came up to cover his face. “I should have never been born, just a waste of space and a useless excuse for a son.”

Dave’s jaw dropped open. Somewhere, this conversation had made a hard turn at the corner of what-the-fuck. “Aaron.”

“I deserved what I got.”

“Aaron.” He repeated more firmly.

“He was right, it was the only way to fix me, make me better.” A whimper slipped out.

“Aaron!” Worry laced his voice as he grabbed the younger man’s arms, trying to get his attention. “I don’t understand.”

Rolling back to a seated position, Aaron pulled off his shirt, something he’d never yet done in Dave’s presence. Until this moment, Dave hadn’t given much thought to the younger man’s need to always be locked away when changing. Twisting back once he was half naked, Aaron dropped onto his stomach on the bed, his back in plain view.

“Aaron…” He was in shock. Scars crisscrossed his back. “Who did this?”

“My father wanted to make me better.” Another sort of whimper. “At least he didn’t see me fail as a lawyer. He doesn’t know I can’t do my duty as a husband… If he knew another man had to satisfy my wife…” He trailed off, a sob bubbling up this time.

However Dave had anticipated this night going, Aaron drunk off his ass, half naked and crying in the middle of the bed most definitely wasn’t it. Wasn’t he supposed to be some expert on behavior? Shouldn’t he have noticed signs of abuse that bad, even in someone’s distant past? It wasn’t like he didn’t see Aaron almost every day. Listening to the younger man sob over all the failings he believed he had, Dave didn’t see much choice but to change and crawl into the bed to comfort him.

==

The first thing Dave noticed the following morning was that he was pinned in place by something heavy. It took longer to work out just what that heavy thing was. He didn’t have a whole lot of experience being the one being spooned but eventually he remembered the night before and comforting his friend, his friend who now seemed to be snuggled up along his back from shoulder to knee. Aaron’s leg was over one of his own, almost as if he was sitting in Aaron’s lap and the younger man’s bare arm was curled against his chest. Warm breath teased his hair.

Dave didn’t react until Aaron began to move, obviously still asleep and maybe even a little drunk, pulling the man in his arms back as he nuzzled into his scalp. When hips rocked a hard dick up against his ass, Rossi was up out of bed in an instant, still careful not to look too freaked out. The kid was asleep and hungover, he couldn’t blame him.

Aaron blinked a minute. “What?” He mumbled.

“Just had to hit the head, Kid.” Dave ducked into the bathroom to give Aaron a minute to wake up. When he stepped back out, Aaron was upright and had the spare blanket wadded up in his lap. “Hey.” He waited until Aaron glance at him with a mumbled apology. “It’s no big deal, you had a lot to drink last night and a drunk brain doesn’t look at specifics when it’s a warm body.” It did make him wonder though, last night Aaron had said he was broken. “Don’t worry, I won’t be starting rumors you’re a fairy just because of something you did while you were drunk.” When Aaron went totally rigid, Dave paused. His words had clearly hit on something. Then the something hit him like a ton of bricks. “Oh.”

Hotch curled into himself, not even trying to look up. “I didn’t want anyone to know.”

“But…You’re married.”

Aaron nodded.

“And Haley…”

“She’s always known.” When the silence carried on, Aaron finally stood. “Thank you for the opportunity to be on the team, I appreciate you taking the time to teach me. I’m sorry that this is how things turned out.” He started to gather his things.

It took Dave a minute to catch up and then he was hurrying across the room to still Aaron’s hands. “No. Stop.”

“I know the FBI isn’t really big on gays among their ranks, I’m sorry for what I nearly did, it was out of line.”

“Aaron, stop!” When the younger man finally froze, Dave pulled him into his arms and gave him a squeezing hug. “You are not useless, you are not a waste of space or anything else, you are not a failure. You are not anything else anyone might have told you.” Pulling back, he pulled Aaron’s head down and placed a paternal kiss in it. “I am sorry that that was what you were taught, but they were wrong.”

Aaron was trembling now, desperately trying to hold in the anxiety and fear over what he might have revealed the night before. Arms wrapped around him again and eventually he gave in and sagging into them, clinging to the older man for comfort as tears began to trail down his cheeks.

When Aaron finally seemed to be running out of steam, Dave pulled away again. “We have a case to solve, and then when we get back to Virginia, I want you to come by my place and we’re going to talk, you and me, and everything is going to be out in the open, okay?” He waited for Aaron to nod. “But first… I would have been proud if you’d been my son. You’re a good man.”

==

The case took another two days to solve but when it was over, Dave nudged Aaron to call Haley and let her know he would be back home but staying for an evening with the older man. Aaron could hear the question in her voice, but she never asked. Dutifully, Aaron climbed into his own car and followed Rossi back to his large home and inside and waited.

Figuring that whatever conversation was about to be had would be better over food, Dave set about starting dinner, gesturing to Aaron to have a seat at the counter. “So… When did you know you were gay?”

“Uhh.” He blushed. “I don’t know…middle school maybe? Or high school. I went to boarding school for a few years and I definitely knew by then.”

“That must have been tough.” He focused on his tasks. “I take it it’s something your parents didn’t approve of.”

“No.”

“And Haley is okay with it?”

“It was her idea to get married. We have an agreement that if we find someone more…compatible, that we are free to do so.”

“Compatible…sexually?”

Aaron blushed. “Yeah.”

“So how often do you do that then?”

“I’ve… I’ve never found anyone. I’ve never really looked.”

That surprised him a bit. “Why not? You’re a good-looking man.”

“I’ve… I’ve never…” He shrugged.

Dave sighed. “Here.” He put a plate of food in front of him. “Eat. We’ll talk more afterward. And don’t think you’re getting out of talking about your dad and those scars.”

==

** Ten Years Later **

==

Aaron was tired. With Dave retired, the only other person who know his secrets was Haley and he found it hard not having someone else he could turn to. Some days the ring around his finger felt more like a noose around his neck as Haley started placing expectations on him that’s she’d never done before. She started hounding him about his hours, about the nightmares he’d have, about the risks involved and then she started talking often about starting a family. By now all their friends had kids, and not young ones anymore either, and still it was just the two of them. She started griping about how bad it looked that she had to find someone to satisfy her needs when she had a husband. At first, he’d tried to remind her that she’d been well aware before they married what she was getting into. Eventually, though, he would drink as soon as he hit the door just to get past the screaming in his brain telling him NO as he used his hands to satisfy her urges just to try and make her happy. It only seemed to make her want more.

Aaron was starting to wonder if he was still doing the right thing until the day someone new walked into the BAU and into his office.

It was like his college dreams had taken human form and walked right into his life when he needed it the most. The young man was beautiful, chestnut hair framing his face and Aaron couldn’t help his staring. He managed a week before he gave in to the urge and found the young man alone in an elevator one night. “I… Do you have plans for dinner?” Aaron stuttered.

Spencer stared at him a moment. “Aren’t you married?”

“Te- technically.”

“Technically?”

“It’s, ah, it’s a long story.”

Spencer seemed to consider a moment before nodding. “Okay. Where were you thinking?”

He hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Umm… There’s a good diner a few miles from here.”

==

The silence that had started as comfortable turned awkward as dinner was eaten, finally Spencer cleared his throat. “So, what’s the story then?”

Aaron felt himself warm. “She and I have a, uh, mutually beneficial agreement.”

“You do?”

“Before we got married we agreed we are both free to see other people… If we find someone we’re interested in.”

“And you’re…interested…in me?”

His blushed deepened.

“Oh.”

“I don’t really have any practice and I didn’t know how to ask if… Well…”

“If I would be interested back?”

“Yeah.”

“How much is ‘not really any’?”

“I’ve only ever dated my wife.”

Spencer’d had to lean forward to catch the words, surprise crossing his face. “Oh.”

“It makes me sound pathetic.”

“No.” Spencer rushed before drawing a breath. “It doesn’t. I have only just moved to Virginia, I’m not really looking to start a relationship or anything.”

“I understand.”

“But maybe we could…do this…every once in a while? Or…talk? I think that might be nice.”

“Okay.”

Spencer studied the man across from him. “Can I ask you something without you, you know, firing me?”

Aaron looked up. “I won’t fire you. This is Aaron and Spencer, not Agent Hotchner and Agent Reid.”

He nodded. “You said you’ve only ever been with your, ah, wife. Have you ever, umm, been with…you know…”

Hotch shook his head.

“Oh… wow…okay.” Spencer thought a minute. “How about we start by just getting to know one another?”

==

** Six Months Later **

==

Aaron waited for the call to connect. Haley would be home soon, but he wanted time to talk with his friend before she was there to listen. He hadn’t really shared much about Reid with his wife, for some reason he wanted to keep it to himself. “Dave.” He greeted as soon as the line connected.

“Aaron, how are you?”

“Good.”

“I hear a proper smile all the way from here. What has you calling me?”

“I… I met someone.” His breath caught at saying it out loud. “He’s… he’s great.”

“And I take it you’ve asked him out?”

“Yeah. Actually, we’ve been slowly getting to know one another for six months or so.”

“Really? And what does Haley think?”

“I… I haven’t really shared with her.”

“Why not? Wasn’t that part of your arrangement?”

“She’s, umm, she’s not been seeing anyone else lately. She’s… she keeps talking about having a baby.”

“She does understand how that works, right?”

“I asked her that. She doesn’t seem to care.”

“I’m sorry.” Dave sighed. “So, tell me about your boyfriend.”

“Dave! He’s hardly my boyfriend.”

“Are you two dating?”

“I… I guess so.”

“So, he’s your boyfriend.” Dave settled. “So, six months, huh? Have you two…you know…”

Aaron rolled his eyes. “Really, Dave?”

“I worry about you, you’re like a son to me, deal with it.”

“We’ve held hands a couple times but… I feel so awkward. I don’t know what to do.”

“Aaron… stop thinking. How did you meet him?”

“At work.”

“He’s an agent? I suppose at least he’ll understand the job.”

“Yeah, he works in the BAU.”

Tumblers began to click into place. “Wait, is this the young man Gideon called me about?”

“I… I guess so.”

“Good for you, Aaron. Really. Listen, I have some things to be doing but call me back and we’ll lock down a time for me to come visit. Okay? We’ll talk in person.”

“Okay.”

“When are you seeing him again?”

“Tonight.”

“I have something I need you to do for me then.”

“What’s that?”

“Kiss him.”

==

The entire evening, Aaron couldn’t figure out where to look. Every time he glanced at Spencer, Dave’s words ran through his mind and he felt himself blushing. He’d managed to bumble through dinner and dessert but as the evening wore on, he could feel his anxiety increasing.

“Aaron.” Spencer reached for his hand once they were on the sidewalk. “What’s up with you tonight?”

“Oh, umm…” He didn’t meet Spencer’s gaze. “Would you, ah, would you like to come back to my place for a drink?”

Spencer lit up at the invitation. “I’d love to.”

“Okay.” He didn’t move.

“Where are you parked?”

“Oh, this way.” He finally began to lead him to the car. The drive was silent, Spencer held his hand until they had to get out of the car again and then followed Aaron into the dark house. “Have a seat.” He gestured to the couch before crossing to the bar to pour drinks.

“What has you so nervous tonight? I thought we were past this?”

Aaron didn’t answer until he was sitting on the sofa next to him. “Something a friend said today on the phone.”

“And that was?”

He chewed his lip a moment. “He told me to kiss you.”

A smile curled the corners of Spencer’s lips as he swallowed some of his drink before setting both of their glasses on the table. Shifting closer, Spencer curled his hands around Aaron’s cheek and neck and brought their faces together. “Ready?” He whispered.

Aaron gave a tiny nod and then there were lips, soft and warm, against his own. He couldn’t help the groan in the back of his throat as it felt like fire flooded through him. Copying the way, the younger man was gripping him, Aaron pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. A gentle nudge to his shoulder had him twisting and falling back, the weight of Spencer’s body pressing down on him felt better than he ever imagined. Someone was whimpering now, and they were rubbing together, Aaron arched into the friction. It took him a minute to realize that the friction was another cock pressing into his own, the thought made him shudder with need.

Soaking it all in, Aaron let his hands fall from Spencer’s face down to his back and then hips, tugging at his shirt until he could touch blessedly warm flesh. Pulling him close, Aaron thrust up again, searching for more until a hand was between them, was working his pants open and then a very masculine hand that wasn’t his own was wrapped around his aching cock and Aaron couldn’t take any more. Crying out against Spencer’s mouth, he came in hot bursts over the younger man’s hand, splashing them both with seed. When he finally opened his eyes again, Spencer was over him, staring down and watching. From his position, he could make out that Spencer was still hard. “Let’s go to my room.”

Spencer nodded and backed off the couch, following Aaron into the bedroom and ducking into the bathroom to wash his hands. When he stepped back out, Aaron looked nervous again, still dressed, as he sat on the bed. “Hey.” Spencer kept his voice soft.

“I’m not sure I know what to do to…” He waved at the bulge in Spencer’s pants. “I understand in theory that it’s like doing things to myself, but…”

“There’s a really simple solution.”

“There is?”

“You try something, and I’ll tell you if I like it or not.” He slowly stripped naked. “It will be more fun if you’re naked too.”

Aaron nodded jerkily and stripped.

“Close your eyes. Now… When you’re masturbating.” He watched Aaron flame red. “How do you start? Do you start soft or are you already hard?”

“In the early mornings, I’m already hard.” His voice was already airy.

“What do you do first?”

“I take my time. I stroke my hands down my chest and stomach.”

Spencer carefully laid flat on his back on the bed and took Aaron’s hand, bringing it up to do the same to his body. After a minute Aaron shifted around so he could use both hands. “Then what?”

“My, uh, my balls…”

Gently, he guided larger hands down until they were massaging his balls.

“Then finally I start stroking my dick.” At Spencer’s guidance, his hand moved as he began to stroke. Spencer’s cock was longer and thinner than his own, but he let muscle memory take over. When Spencer bucked, he used his free hand to hold him still, drops of precome were slicking his hand with every pass.

“Open your eyes.” Spencer whispered into Aaron’s ear and the older man obeyed, looking down as Spencer erupted out of his fist.

“Oh.” Aaron sighed. He’d never watched another man come before. “Can… Can I taste it?” He felt Spencer nod against his arm and raised his hand, hesitantly lapping at first but then more eagerly until his hand was clean. After their breathing returned to normal, Aaron tugged Spencer into the bathroom. “Shower?”

==

The following morning, Aaron woke to the feel of a hard cock pressing into his hip. Feeling bold, he carefully crawled down the bed until he was knelt between the other man’s knees and took the now familiar cock in his hands, carefully stroking it until the man before him started to wake.

“Good morning.” Spencer hummed. “If you keep doing that, I’m going to finish too soon.”

With a smirk, Aaron carried on a moment longer until he could tell Spencer was right at the edge. “I want to try something.” He slowed his hands.

He whined, but then Spencer nodded. “What do you want to try?”

“I dunno.”

He huffed a chuckle. “Not sure I can help with that.”

“How have you had sex before?”

“Blow jobs, hand jobs, frottage, full blown penetration.” He saw Aaron pale. “You don’t have to do any of that if you don’t want to.”

“I’ve never even considered it before.” He stared down at their hard cocks. “Would you fuck me or me fuck you?”

“I’ve usually been the bottom.” He watched him a minute. “What if I gave you a blowjob? We could try some things and if you are uncomfortable or get freaked out, you just say so.”

“Yeah, I can do that.”

“Was there a fantasy you had?”

“There was something I saw once, in college, I mean…I’ve imagined a lot of things, but there was one I really liked.”

“It felt good?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. How does it go?”

“It was a picture in a magazine. One guy was laying down and the other was sitting over his chest.”

With a nod, Spencer adjusted pillows and himself until he was motioning for Aaron to take his position. Steadying his hips with his hands, Spencer lined him up and then used one hand to guide him in.

Aaron’s eyes rolled back at the feel of wet heat around his dick. He shallowly thrust twice before looking down and groaning. It was as if his every dream had come to life. Pink lips wrapped around his aching member as it glistened, slipping between them. He gripped the headboard tight. “I think I’m close.” He felt Spencer press a thumb to the underside of his prick. “What do I do?” He felt the hand on his hip pull him in and he understood, fucking into Spencer’s glorious mouth, grunting and crying out as he was overrun with the feeling. “Please.” He begged. “Please please please.” Every muscle in his body was tensed, every fiber focused on that point at the base of his dick. “Oh god you feel so good.” He babbled. “I need to come. I need to come.” He was panting hard, not drawing in enough oxygen to keep dots from dancing in the corners of his vision. “Please, Spence.” The thumb vanished, and Aaron’s body bowed, his prick pressing in as he pulsed blessedly into that hot, wet mouth. Finally, he sagged back, remembering Spencer was beneath him, he rolled to the side landing on his stomach.

Carefully, Spencer moved. “I want to fuck you.” He felt Aaron’s back tense under his palm. “No penetration yet, I just… Do you have lube?”

“Drawer.” Aaron pulled it open.

Finding what he was looking for, Spencer straddled his ass and thighs, pouring more than enough lube also Aaron’s crack. “Trust me.”

“Yes.” Aaron was blown away by the feeling of Spencer’s prick slipping between the globes of his ass, teasing his skin until he was fucking between them, not holding back as he’d already been aroused for so long. Hands were gripping his shoulders as they both grunted and groaned, each taking from the moment what they needed. Too soon, Spencer was coming over his ass and back, Aaron felt like his flesh was on fire where it was touching him. He was somewhat aroused again already and rutting into the sheets felt good without being too much.

“God you’re so beautiful.” Spencer spoke, climbing out of bed to fetch some damp cloths.

Aaron didn’t move until something caught his eye. Looking up, he realized Haley had passed the doorway and was frozen, staring at him sprawled naked in the bed, another man’s come cooling on him.

==

Haley frowned into her coffee. It had been their agreement long before they got married but… she’d never been confronted with the reality of it. She’d always viewed it as her free pass to date and sleep with whatever man she wanted while keeping the security of a husband to provide for her. It had been a wonderful arrangement, Aaron never seemed to even consider finding a boyfriend and so he devoted everything to her. But now there was another man in his bed, they’d woke her up this morning with their bedroom activities.

If Aaron was ever going to screw around with someone, she’d fully intended it to be her, as her husband, he owed her a baby anyway. A man walking into her kitchen startled her out of her thoughts and she looked up, set to be rude but the sight of him made her stop. Her husband’s fantasies had always been very specific, an ideal that Haley had simply assumed would never exist, but here that fantasy was nervously staring at her.

“Hi, um, I’m… I’m Spencer. Reid.”

Haley just nodded. “I wasn’t aware my husband was seeing anyone.” She took small pleasure in seeing him react to the word husband.

“We, ah, we’ve been…dating I guess…for six months.”

She sipped her coffee. “You guys must normally be better at being quiet then.”

“Oh, we’ve never…last night was the first night it went even that far.”

That stopped her. She had usually been in bed with any guy inside of three dates and she’d never been afraid of Aaron knowing about her activities, that was their deal after all. “Did he tell you we are trying for a baby?”

Spencer’s brows rose, Aaron hadn’t said anything to him at all about that. “No, I wasn’t aware.” Aaron had given him the impression he’d never had sex…maybe he just meant with a man…

“Six months…I’m surprised he didn’t tell you.” She watched with a small smile as the young man backed up and practically fled back up to Aaron’s room.

==

Aaron was startled when Spencer burst back in and slammed the door. “What’s wrong?”

“You said your marriage was just for show. You said you were gay and always have been.”

“Yes.”

“Your _wife_ said you guys are trying to have a baby. So, tell me, Aaron, what’s the truth?”

Sagging in frustration, he sank down onto the bed. “I met Haley in high school, I told her early on that I was gay, but we stayed together because my parents wouldn’t have allowed me to be. We got drunk a time or two as kids and fooled around but it was clear I wasn’t attracted to her. She liked the idea of marrying a lawyer and…” He sighed. “And having a wife solved a lot of problems for me.”

“The catch?”

“The _agreement_ was that we could see whoever we wanted on the side who better fit our tastes.”

Spencer frowned. “And the baby?”

“She wants a baby, but more specifically, she wants _my_ baby since I’m her husband.”

He had to think a minute. “Do you want a baby?”

“I…I don’t know.”

The room filled with silence for a long while before Spencer spoke again. “I’m going to go. I think you need some time to work things out with her. Okay?”

“Okay.” Aaron was startled when a hand tipped his head up and a light kiss was pressed to his lips.

==

Aaron had spent the rest of the weekend sullen and quiet. He knew he should talk to Haley, and probably call Spencer too, but he wasn’t sure where to start. He married her understanding that there would be times he had to step up and play the role properly, was fathering a child one of those times? All their friends had kids.

As Sunday afternoon slipped into evening, Aaron pulled bottles of beer out of the fridge and began working his way through them. Maybe if he was drunk, the solution to his problems would come to him. But all the alcohol seemed to do was warm his blood to an uncomfortable level. Haley had gotten irritated with him earlier in the day and had left in a huff, so Aaron cracked open another beer and stumbled back to the couch. Closing his eyes, he remembered the feel of Spencer on top of him. Wanting as much of the sensation to return, he leaned to the side and laid out on the couch on his back, opening his pants and puling himself out.

Open palmed, he pressed against the underside of his dick, allowing the transfer of heat without adding too much stimulation. Before meeting Spencer, he’d never really experienced more than a passing curiosity about actually having sex with a man. The idea of touching and being touched by someone else in their most intimate areas, it was overwhelming to say the least. The sight of Spencer’s body, laid out before him, the look of his own cock vanishing into that mouth that he already watched so closely as it spoke. He wondered, when the younger man spoke, he would often lick his lips, pink tongue appearing for a moment, and now Aaron wondered what that tongue would feel like touching him in other places. His dick twitched against his hand and he groaned, stroking himself hard for a minute before easing up again.

Rolling, Aaron caught his beer and finished it off before laying back, sucking his fingers into his mouth before shimmying his pants down his thighs. Twisting, he pressed a finger against the skin around his hole, the memory of Spencer’s cock nestled there flooded his mind and he gasped. Keeping his other hand rubbing his dick, he pressed just the tip into his opening, feeling the way his body tensed and then gave in to the intrusion. Daring himself, he pulled back and used the tips of two fingers, adding pressure until, finally, they broke through, the stretch and burn of it making his breath catch in his throat. His brain was shouting _too much_ while some part of his body was begging for more. Slowly, he tried pressing further but the angle was all wrong. Shifting carefully around until he was resting stomach down with his knees to his chest, Aaron’s pants had worked their way to his calves, his face buried now into the couch cushion. The different angle, ass presented to the room, it made his fingers able to better press in, the dry drag making him wish his lube wasn’t all the way upstairs.

Frustrated with himself and dancing in the wonderful space where his buzz was still helping his libido instead of killing it, Aaron took a deep breath and went for broke, pressing his fingers in as far as he dared, making him suddenly buck and cry out, precome leaking in earnest. “Fuck.” He swore into the cushion. Forcing his fingers in again, he started jacking himself off, imagining Spencer touching him. Arching into himself, Aaron finally came with a shout, passing out almost instantly after.

Haley let herself into their house. Her time away had worked some things out in her mind. She’d agreed to their arrangement, but she did want a baby and he just needed to agree to that, then he could have his scrawny coworker as long as he wanted. Entering the living room, she first spotted the coffee table covered in empty beer bottles, the TV running in the background. She’d rarely ever seen Aaron drink, never more than one or maybe two if they had company, not since they were kids anyway. Moving to clear up, she got her first look at her husband, passed out still. His shirt was rucked up and his pants were past his knees, one arm draped over his back while the other hand was still alongside his dick. On the sofa in front of him was a puddle of cooling come. She frowned, hating that she would likely have to clean him and his mess up. As she quietly cleared up the bottles, however, an idea sprang to her mind.

==

“Hey.” Aaron stopped at the breakroom counter beside Spencer the next morning. “Look, I did some thinking this weekend and… can we talk? Tonight maybe?”

Spencer backed up a step, looking the older man over to try and garner some insight into what would be said. “Uh, yeah, sure.”

By the time evening came around, however, the team was on a case in North Dakota. Aaron moped around his hotel room, wishing things could be easier, wishing he’d never agreed to the whole thing with Haley in the first place. He was surprised when someone knocked softly on his door. “Spencer.”

“Can… Can I come in?”

“Yes.” He stepped back, resetting the lock behind them.

“What did you want to talk about this morning?” He sat on the bed.

“Oh.” Aaron stared at his toes. “I just… I did some thinking and…things…” He felt his skin flush. “This weekend and I realized that what I want is you. Sure, kids sound nice, but I’ve never been in love with Haley and I think…I think I could fall in love with you.”

“You think?”

He winced at the way that sounded. “I look forward to seeing you, even if we’re just at work. There’s this thrill that runs through me knowing you’ll be there and… And I love our dinners and…dates. I look forward to them, even if I am awkward on them. I realized this weekend that I liked you touching me and I really liked touching you and I want to do that again. And I think…” He trailed off.

“You think what?” Spencer eventually prodded, keeping his voice low.

“I think I would like to try other things with you. Other..touching…things.”

“You want me to touch you, but you can’t look at me when you say it?” He smiled as he spoke to help take any edge off his words. “Look, Aaron…” He closed the space between them. “What you and Haley have…”

“Is a farce.” He cut off. “I was a kid and it seemed like the safe choice but now…Now I see it for the mistake it is.”

“Have you talked to Haley yet?”

Aaron shook his head.

“Talk to her first. This week. Then we’ll talk again at the weekend.”

“Okay.”

==

Talking with Haley, as it turned out, wasn’t as easy as he’d planned.

“That wasn’t our deal, Aaron.”

“You have boyfriends, Haley, and I’ve never once had an issue, in fact I’ve welcomed most of them into our lives with open arms, but with Spencer… I want to be happy with him and if you can’t be happy with me then I want a separation.”

“I want a baby. Your baby.”

“Haley.” He sighed heavily. “I’m not sure I could even manage…”

“Aaron. The only way I let you have your little boyfriend is if you let me have a baby.”

He bit his lip, thinking. “How do you plan on getting that from me?”

She shrugged, a soft smile filling her face. “I’m sure there are a few things you can try. After all, we don’t have to have sex for you to give me your sperm. I mean, Sunday showed me you’re more than willing to just leave it all over the house, might as well put it into something and make it useful instead of just staining the furniture.”

He swallowed hard. “I apologized and cleaned up after myself.”

“I know. The new question is, how bad do you want your little boyfriend?”

“I- I’ll have to think about it.” Anxiety rising, he grabbed his keys and left the house, eventually finding himself in a quiet park before pulling out his phone and dialing the one person who he knew would get his head sorted out.

“Aaron, how’d the date go?”

“Dave…good, it went good.”

“Did you kiss him?”

“Yes. He ended up spending the night. We, ah, we did…things…”

“I’m happy for you, Aaron. You deserve someone who’s the right fit.”

“If only Haley felt that way.” At the older man’s prodding, he outlined his newest predicament.

“Well, Aaron, my first question is do you want a baby.”

“I don’t know. I sort of always imagined having kids.’

“Do you want a baby with Haley?”

“I… I guess? I mean, a woman has to be involved in the process somewhere, right?”

“Right.”

“I just feel like she’s manipulating me.”

“Oh, she is.”

“Gee, not making me feel better, Dave.”

“Well, you need to ask yourself, how would you feel about the end result? You would have a son or daughter that she would have to let you spend time with. She’s blatantly manipulating you but take that part out right now. She wants a child, your child.”

“I think I’d like a kid.”

“And you would get this Spencer as well, yes?”

“I think so.”

“Don’t try to rush it, Aaron, give the whole idea some time. How would Spencer feel if you were a parent, is that something he’s okay with? Being a parent changes the dynamic of any relationship.”

“I’ll talk to him.”

“Figure out what you want first, though. Be certain of how you want this to play out for you.”

“Okay.”

“And Aaron?”

“Yeah?”

“You’ll make a great dad, I just know it.”

“Thanks.”

==

Spencer thought for a minute before replying. The pair was sitting in Aaron’s living room three days after Hotch’s conversation with Haley. Aaron had explained everything that was going on in detail, answering questions. “So, how would it work? Between you and her?”

“I’m not sure… I guess I would make a donation of some sort. I’m not going to try and sleep with her.”

“Okay.”

Aaron hesitated a moment. “What?”

Spencer shrugged. “Okay. I would like us to be exclusive but if you aren’t sleeping with her, then…Okay. How would it be any different than donating for her or her being a surrogate for you?”

“I- I don’t- I…”

Spencer brought their lips together to end the rambling. Allowing the kiss to deepen after a minute, he tugged Aaron over until he was laying on top of Spencer. Spreading his knees, Spencer shifted so the larger man was settled snug down on him. Wrapping his arms around him, he encouraged the hesitant kissing until they were both breathing hard.

“God, you make me feel like a teenager again.” Aaron panted, pressing his hips down slightly to emphasize his words. “I touch you and suddenly I’m hard.”

Spencer smirked, snaking one hand between them and freeing them both from their pants before pulling Aaron into another kiss. Their cocks were together now, Spencer could feel the hot ridges against his own. Thrusting up, he smiled at the shudder and groan that ran through Aaron’s body. “Just let the feelings happen.” He whispered.

Aaron could feel himself trembling. “I need more.”

“Clear your mind.” He pulled Aaron even closer, fucking up into the space between them. “Just let your body do what it wants.” That seemed to do the trick as Aaron was suddenly pulling him into a fresh kiss, hips setting a rhythm that made Spencer’s heart sing and blood rush south. The body pressing into him shifted slightly and suddenly Spencer found himself exploding in the space between their flesh. He felt Aaron still for a split second, but he pulled him closer, spurring him on. “Fuck me.”

The hot slick covering their skin eased the burn and Aaron found himself rutting desperately into the other man, kissing him like it was the last drops of water in the desert and he was a dying, thirsty man. He wasn’t sure he could stop it now even if he wanted to, his body _craved_ what it knew was coming. With a roar, he ripped his lips away, muscles tensing as he pulsed out between them, adding exponentially to the hot, sticky mess.

Spent, Aaron sagged down onto Spencer, panting to catch his breath. What they’d just done had to be the hottest thing he’d ever tried with a real live person.

“You’re heavy.” Spencer gasped eventually.

“Oh” Aaron pushed up, taking in the mess and the sight of their bare cocks as he looked down. Just the sight made his own twitch again. “God, I can’t believe I’m already trying to get hard again.”

Spencer smirked, pushing him back so he could sit up as well. “Well, give me a few minutes to wash up and we can move this to the bedroom and explore some more.” He tugged Aaron’s hand, pulling him toward the bathroom.

“Explore?”

“Each other.” Nimble fingers traced over Aaron’s ass. “Just touching and discovering with no course planned out, no destination to reach.”

Aaron nodded, going through the motions of washing up and collecting the suggested towels and things before climbing, naked, onto the bed.

“Lay on your stomach.” Spencer watched the larger man obey before coating his fingers with lube. “Have you ever fingered yourself?”

Aaron blushed. “Ah, once… After…Uh…” A finger pressed firmly at his entrance cut him off. He forced his body to relax and the finger slipped in to the knuckle. He shuddered. The finger pulled back and slipped in again.

“Doing okay?”

“Yes.” The finger vanished and returned with a partner. Aaron could feel his ring of muscles try to tighten around the larger intrusion.

“Just relax.”

“I’m trying.” He grunted.

Spencer poured a pool of lube alongside his fingers, pressing it inside with each stroke. “There we go, now you’re relaxing.” Spencer pulled out and added a third.

Aaron gasped. “Shit! Stopstop…” He panted heavily. “Just…give me a second.”

“I can stop.”

“No…just…please…” He had to focus harder on his body relaxing, on convincing muscles that _this_ something was something he really wanted going in there. “How much more?”

“This isn’t some pain to be endured, Aaron.”

“Please.”

“Three is plenty.”

“Move.”

Spencer began to carefully fuck his fingers in and out, watching Aaron’s face for any signs of distress. “How are you doing?”

“Good, I think I’m good now.” Suddenly he arched, crying out as it felt like fireworks went off inside him. “Fuck.”

“Feel good?”

“God yes.”

Spencer did it again, giving Aaron a moment before doing it a third time.

“Dear lord I’m so hard it hurts now.” The fingers vanished, and he whimpered despite himself. He watched Spencer wash his hand. “What’s…”

“I have a better way you can put your aching cock to use than driving a hole through the bed.” Spencer shifted onto his back, arranging both of them until Aaron was kneeling between his knees and he was adding lube to his hand. “I’ll guide you through, you can’t hurt me.”

“O-okay.” Aaron watched as the younger man took his hand and pressed two of his slicked fingers against his hole. What felt like a split second later, his fingers were vanishing to the knuckles inside the younger man. “God…”

“Go in all the way.” Spencer arched and keened as Aaron did as he was told. “I won’t need as much stretching.”

“For what?” He was staring still at where his fingers were disappearing inside Spencer’s ass.

“For you to fuck me.”

“What?”

Spencer gave him a gentle smile. “Wash your hand and crawl up here, I promise you won’t hurt me.”

Doing as he was told, Aaron returned to the space between his knees, Spencer had tucked a pillow under his ass in the interim. “Are you sure?”

He studied Aaron’s face. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I would love it if you did.”

“It really won’t hurt?”

Spencer shrugged one shoulder. “A good sort of hurt. Come closer.” He tugged and arranged Aaron into the right position before taking his hand, squeezing fresh lube into his palm. “Stroke yourself, nice and slick.”

Aaron did as he was told, spreading the thick liquid all over his dick.

“Now over me, like this.”

He let himself be guided forward until he was holding his prick steady against Spencer’s hole. Holding his breath, he leaned in, applying small amounts of pressure until that ring of muscle began to give way. With a slight slip, the muscle was suddenly past the head, holding it in as much as trying to keep the rest of him out. He’d never experienced that sort of tight pressure slipping around his cock before and he found himself trembling at the experience. “So tight.”

“Take your time, Aaron, but moving helps.”

Aaron nodded and let himself sink a little more before he pulled back out until just his head was in again. In and out, a little deeper each time and then back to just the head. He focused on how it felt to have something so hot squeezing his dick like that for the first time ever, the overwhelming feeling of flesh against flesh as well as the sight as his cock, shining in the light with the lube coating it, as it vanished and reappeared. As he moved in and out, Spencer’s balls moved as well, so Aaron used his now free hand to hold them to the side, to feel their weight in his palm.

From his vantage point, he could see the veins bulging on the underside of Spencer’s long dick, flushed with arousal. His mind told him to touch there too and so he did. Balls and then cock and then balls again, studying, watching, learning their reactions to the stimulation. Not giving notice to the sounds the man beneath him had started making, not even thinking about his own aching arousal.

Spencer was totally relaxed on the bed, mesmerized by the amount of focus Aaron was giving the task at hand over him. It was breathtaking, seeing that level of focus tuned in to what they were doing. Spencer’d seen that intensity plenty of times at work, focused determination aimed at a case or a suspect, but being on the receiving end, it was captivating. “Aaron…” Deep brown eyes met his. “Watch what you do to me.” He whispered.

Looking down again, Aaron gripped a slim hip as the cock between them twitched and pulsed before coming between them. “Oh, I can feel you. I can feel you coming.” The fluttering, squeezing of the passage around his dick was unlike anything he had ever known. “I can’t believe I’m going to come inside you… Can I really do this?”

It took Spencer a moment to realize it was a real question, that Aaron was waiting for a real answer as his hips stuttered, trying to keep their rhythm and trying to hold the waves of release at bay. “Yes, Aaron, come in me.”

His entire body shuddered and with a groan rumbling in his chest, Aaron came.

==

After their coupling, Aaron had insisted on helping Spencer wash up before arranging the covers, so they could both climb in. “I think I’m already getting attached to having you in my bed. I’ve never shared a bed really with someone, not like this.” He pulled the other man close and nuzzled into him. “I’ve made a decision though.”

“A decision?”

“I want to talk to a friend of mine, he’s always been a sounding board of sorts for me.”

“Is this the friend you’ve mentioned before? The one who told you to kiss me?”

Aaron nodded.

“Tell him thank you for that.” He held him close a minute. “What’s this friend’s name? Or is his name Friend?”

“Dave. He used to work on the team but retired.”

“Wait… Dave as in David Rossi?”

“Yeah. You’ve heard of him?”

“Who _hasn’t_ heard of him? He’s a legend! But… Should you really be getting relationship advice from him?”

“Why?”

“Hasn’t he had like six wives and slept with every woman in the building?”

“He’s had three, one lasted years and was the love of his life and one was…amusing. And he has a rule about sleeping with women who carry guns.”

“That doesn’t rule out everyone.”

“I know. His reputation is far larger than reality though. He’s a good guy.”

“Okay, so you have a dependable, neutral sounding board. Can I ask what the decision is?”

“You can ask.”

After an obtuse minute, he realized he had to actually ask. “What is this decision, Aaron?”

“I will use a donor bank and father a child for Haley, but there will be a legal contract written up beforehand, almost like a prenup, I will make sure the child or children are fully cared for and she will be cared for during the pregnancy, but I want a divorce.”

Spencer pushed up so he was staring down at Aaron. “Really? Are you sure? Cause that’s a huge step, Aaron.”

“I know. Our marriage, we never should have done it. It was a mistake made by children who were scared of the world.”

“She… she has a good thing going here, are you sure she’s going to be willing to just walk away?”

“I don’t know.”

==

“No.”

“Haley…” Aaron rubbed his face with both hands. “This is a good deal.”

“I don’t want a deal. I want a husband.”

“But you’ll have a baby.”

“And be a single, working mother?”

“Isn’t about time you got a stable job anyway?” He snapped in frustration, regretting it the moment he processed what he’d said. “Haley… I’m…” A smack across his face cut him off.

“You jerk! You…ass!” She began to gather her purse and things. “Our lives were perfectly fine until that scrawny little nerd joined your team. I knew he was trouble the moment I saw him.”

“No Haley, your life was perfectly fine… You had my money and your freedom.”

Her face turned red as she bit back her next response. “You’ll be hearing from my lawyer.” The door slammed behind her as she stormed out.

Sagging into a chair, Aaron pulled out his phone and dialed from memory.

“Drinks out or in?” Was the greeting.

“In. Definitely in.” He hung up, knowing Dave would come to him with the good stuff.

==

Dave stared down at the crumpled, passed out form of his friend where he’d dumped him on the bed. They’d talked for hours, the younger man opening up about everything. The drunker he’d gotten, the looser his tongue had become, and Dave was comfortable in making his next moves as he fished for Aaron’s phone on the desk in the office and scrolled until he found the number. Dialing, he waited for the other person to answer.

“How’d it go, Hotch?”

“This isn’t Hotch, this is David Rossi. I take it you are Spencer?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Can I gather you know where Aaron lives?”

“Yes.”

“Can you meet me here, I think we need to talk.”

==

Early the next morning, Aaron shuffled into his own kitchen expecting a fresh confrontation with his wife, instead he found his best friend and the person he was starting to think of as his boyfriend, if only in his own mind, eating breakfast and silently sharing the paper as if they’d done so for years. Added to the mugs of steaming coffee and a familiar tail thumping from under the table between them, it looked oddly domestic. “You didn’t have Mudge with you last night.” Aaron stated by way of greeting, making them both look up.

“No, Spencer here stopped by and collected him on his way over.”

“Mudgie is the worst guard dog ever.” Spencer observed.

“He’s not a guard dog, he’s a hunting dog.”

“Still. A dog should not greet a stranger by wagging and following them around the house.”

“When did you get here?” Aaron asked Spencer.

“I called him after you finally passed out. My attorney is faxing over divorce and custody terms shortly.”

“Your attorney?”

Dave shrugged. “Figured he has plenty of practice.”

“There’s no one to have custody of yet anyway.”

“Still. What he sends, you sign.”

“I’ll need some time to read it.”

“Sign it, Aaron. The faster he gets it to the court, the faster we have the upper hand.”

“We?”

Dave nodded slowly, waving between the three of them. “We. I also have my PI tailing Haley.”

“Wait, you have a PI?” Spencer peered over his paper.

“Technically he’s my lawyer’s PI, but for the retainers I drop, he’s my PI.”

“You do remember I am a member of the Bar, right? I can sort out my own divorce.”

“A man who represents himself has a fool for a client, Aaron. You know better than that. Now, come sit and eat, after last night you need water and food. I made quiche and proper hash browns.”

“I had stuff for quiche?”

Dave shot him a look. “No. I left Spencer here to look after you and I ran to the store. I really don’t know how that little place up the road counts as a grocery store, more like end of times subsistence store.”

Aaron finally sank into a free chair, toes curling into Mudgie’s fur. “You are such a snob.”

==

Aaron and Spencer started keeping their budding relationship at Spencer’s apartment instead of at the house, not wanting to give Haley a reason to be more upset than she already was. One of their nights together, Spencer poured drinks for the pair of them. “What were those meetings about today?” He turned toward the other man when he didn’t get a response. “Aaron?”

“Hmm?” Aaron looked up at him. “Sorry.”

“You’re distracted.” He handed him his drink. “What’s up?”

“The doctors said it’s time for me to,uh, make my donation.”

“Okay.” He sat, slightly confused. “And?”

“And I’m not sure I can go into some sterile room and do… _that_. Everyone walking by in the hall would know exactly what I was doing in there.”

“Ah. Well, you know, there is another option.”

“I’m not having sex with Haley.” Aaron quickly responded.

“That’s not what I was going to say, though if you are insisting that quickly that you won’t have sex with your wife, then clearly this divorce is exactly what needs to be happening. No, what I was going to say is there is a way for them to send you home with the supplies and you take everything in to the office when you’re done.”

“Really?” Aaron looked up in surprise.

Spencer nodded.

“I’ll have to ask about that.”

“Now, back to my original question, at work today, meetings, what’s happening?”

“One I had to justify keeping Gideon on sabbatical instead of just retiring him out. Somehow, I feel dirtier with that being my decision… I thought it would make it easier.”

“What does Gideon want?”

“To be back in the field. I told him that would be over my dead body with the way things are now… He got this look in his eye that made me question my word choice.”

Spencer sat up straight. “Do you really think he’s capable of murder?”

“I believe we don’t know what we’re really capable of until the chips are down. On some level, we’re all capable of murder. In the right set of parameters.”

“So, he’s staying on sabbatical?”

“For now. Agent Gomez is still out on maternity leave anyway and rumor has it Agent Boston’s mother is gravely ill, and he’d like to have some time to spend with her. So, the academy can keep Gideon plenty busy for a while.”

“You think he’ll come back?”

“I don’t know… I don’t think I could… He carries a lot of guilt for antagonizing Bale and then everyone getting caught in the fallout. I can’t imagine being able to live with that amount of guilt.”

==

Aaron had spoken to the doctor at his next visit and it turned out, Spencer was correct. Three days later, he was leaving the office again, this time loaded up with what he would need to ensure the viability of as much of his contribution as possible. Making it as far as his car, his phone rang. “Hotchner.” He answered without checking the ID.

“I’m just calling to check in on you.” Came Dave’s reply.

“Why?”

“A little bird told me that Haley’s lawyer submitted a response to the divorce filing.”

“A little bird, Dave?”

The older man grunted in reply. “Look, do you want a heads up before you go home or not?”

“How do you know I’m not at home?”

“Because the PI says Haley’s there and you’re not.”

“Would it do me any good to tell you to dump the PI business?”

“No. Aaron, listen to me, these things don’t just go smoothly, you have to protect yourself.”

“Fine, Dave, but I’m not headed home yet anyway, I’m headed to Spencer’s for the evening.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll give you the highlights.”

“Sounds good.”

==

By the time Aaron was knocking on Spencer’s door forty minutes later, he was shifting his weight from foot to foot, go-bag over one shoulder and bag from the doctor’s office in the opposite hand. When Spencer opened the door, he smiled at the younger man unevenly as he stepped in.

“Hey.” He pecked a kiss to Aaron’s cheek. “How are you?”

“Nervous.”

“It’s just you and I, Aaron. I made a good dinner, we’ll put on some music and take off our clothes and see how things go.”

“Yeah.” A nervous chuckle slipped out as he put everything down. Before he could come up with a better response, he was crowded back against the door, hands fisting his shirt and lips pressed hard to his. Spencer was a long, solid line against his body, hips rolling into him as the kiss continued.

When Spencer finally came up for air, he nipped at the other man’s throat. “There’s so much I want to do to you.”

“Ahng...like what?”

“I want to touch you here…” His hand first rubbed Aaron’s prick through his clothes before moving to his ass. “And then here. Can I fuck you?”

“I… I want to…”

“But?”

“I’m afraid.” He swallowed. “But I want you to try.”

“We’ll see how the evening goes.” He tugged Aaron toward the kitchen. “Let’s eat.”

Eating, in the general order of things, led to drinking nice wine, which led to the pair of them in Spencer’s living room down to only their boxers, casually petting and fondling one another with no real urgency. Aaron had to admit, it was a relaxed sort of arousal he was beginning to feel, not rushed or desperate like it often was. Just the warm glow of being with and touched by someone you loved. That thought stopped his mind dead in it’s tracks. Did he love Spencer?

Spencer could feel under his palm the moment Aaron’s breath caught, could feel his heartrate picking up and his muscles tense. “Shh… Whatever it is, it’s not as bad as your mind is making it.” His words seemed to help as Aaron began to breathe again. “I could just touch you all night, you know.”

“I…” He wasn’t sure what to say.

“I’ll be right back.” Spencer pulled up from the couch and vanished into his room, returning fully naked with a bottle of lube in his hand. Settling into the wingback chair instead of returning to the couch, he beckoned Aaron over. “Take your boxers off. We’re going to try this, you might feel in more control in this position.”

“O-okay.” Aaron crossed the room, stepping out of his own boxers as he did. When Spencer pulled him, he sat across his spread knees, ass open and available as he used the back of the chair for balance. He watched as the younger man coated fingers in lube before reaching past his balls and circling his hole.

“Relax.”

“Kinda hard.”

“It’ll be worth it, I promise.” He added pressure to Aaron’s pucker until two fingers slipped past, just up to the nail.

Aaron panted, doing his best to relax and allow him in. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

He nodded.

Spencer carefully twisted his fingers slightly, sliding them in further until he was up to two knuckles. He pulled back and pressed in again, eventually beginning to feel Aaron relax. “That’s good. I’m going to go one more.”

“Yeah.” He gasped when the fingers vanished and then three were inside him. His brain screamed to pull up and away, but he fought it, working to sink himself down onto Spencer’s hand. Realizing his ass was dipping down, Aaron pulled up only to repeat it again. Before either of them knew it, Aaron was riding Spencer’s fingers.

“Shh.” He stilled the older man. “Ready to ride the real thing?”

“Yeah, I think so.” When those fingers vanished, Aaron felt empty, alone. But then Spencer was slicking up his dick and pulling Aaron forward, lining up and steadying himself and he encouraged Aaron to sit, impaling himself. Compared to the tip of a finger, the head of Spencer’s dick felt impossibly huge against his hole. “I don’t know if I can do this.” He said to himself, willing his body to allow the blunt pressure in. The pressure turned to pain as muscles were forced to move. Teeth biting into his chest, sucking desperately, made him gasp and arch, nerve impulses rerouted to this new source of pain and away from his ass, allowing it to relax and let himself begin to sink down. “Ooh.” He could feel his entire body shaking as he was filled fuller than he’d ever felt before. The filling never seemed to stop. “I’m so full, I can’t…”

“I’m in.” Spencer whispered. “I’m all the way in, breathe Aaron. Breathe and feel me inside you.”

With a shudder, Aaron allowed his mind to actually _feel_ the dick buried inside him. “Didn’t know I could be this full.”

“Ride me, Aaron. Ride me and find out what full feels like.”

Nodding, Aaron used his heels to push up and then sink down again, it didn’t hurt as much this time, so he did it again and again, each time the pain was replaced with a kind of pleasure. Tipping his head forward, he watched beads of precome leaking down his own prick. “I’ve never come without being touched before. I never imagined this could feel so good.” Open mouthed, he breathed heavily as he rode Spencer. “I- I…”

Close himself, Spencer reached into the space beside the cushions in the chair and pulled out one of the specimen jars he’d secretly magicked there earlier, taking Aaron in on hand and the jar in the other. “Close your eyes and feel me, Aaron, just focus on me filling you up and my hand stroking you. I’m so close, Aaron, are you ready for me to fill your ass with my come for the first time?”

Aaron’s trembling increased. “Yes, god yes.” He knew his eyes were rolling back behind his lids at the things Spencer was doing to his dick. Spencer cried out and Aaron could feel it, could feel the way his dick twitched as he was filling him up. With a rumbling groan, Aaron shuddered again and was coming, his prick swelling and pulsing in Spencer’s hand. When he could feel they were both done, he peeled his eyes open, looking down at Spencer with a smile only to realize the younger man had something in his hand. “What’s…”

Spencer smiled. “Wasn’t so bad after all, was it?” He held up the specimen cup.

“Is that all?” He frowned at the liquid in the cup. “I swear it felt like more than that.”

“Looks like a normal amount.”

Aaron started to say more, but the sudden feeling of Spencer softening inside him drew his attention away. “Ohh…” He felt his body relax and then the moment they separated, the come inside him leaking out more due to the way he was still straddling Spencer’s legs. “Is it crazy that I already miss you inside me?”

“Not at all, I’m quite addictive.” He cheeked.

Carefully, Aaron stood, clenching with a grimace at the uncomfortable feeling as he made his way to the bathroom, by the time Spencer joined him, he was mostly cleaned up.

“I followed the instructions and put it in the transport container.”

“Thanks. I really expected it to be weirder than that, I didn’t even realize you had the cup.”

“I saw there were some extras.”

“The nurse said incase a mishap happened, I could try again.”

“Maybe we should use them all, then, just in case.”

==

Weeks and then months went by without Aaron knowing much of anything else about what was happening as far as his soldiers that had been shipped off to war went. Haley, always moody now, was harder than ever to read and he wasn’t sure if her moods were the pending divorce, hormones, or frustration about the whole situation. He took the cowards way out and simply didn’t ask.

He didn’t really blame her, but he also didn’t really feel sorry for her either.

He’d honestly lost track of the time, unsure with their new status as divorcing if he even had a right to ask personal questions, was it within their agreement? Technically they were just two adults creating a baby together. As months wore on, he began to see less and less of Haley at home and only then when it was in the wee hours of the morning or late at night. She was always out, busy. It was Dave and his blasted PI that clued him in that she might actually be dodging him.

“I’m telling you Aaron; the PI thinks she’s knocked up. He said she’s been going to the doctor regularly.”

“Which means nothing, Dave.”

“And last week he followed her until she went into a maternity clothes store.” Dave carried on.

“What?” Aaron frozen mid sip of his drink. “Really?”

“You haven’t noticed anything different?”

“No. But we’ve never shared a bed or anything, I was barely an adult the last time I saw her naked.”

Dave shook his head but didn’t say a word.

“Why would she hide it?”

“Maybe she’s having second thoughts about sharing?”

“She wouldn’t do that?”

“Wouldn’t she? If I recall, she didn’t want to share you with Spencer. My opinions of Haley are not very generous, you know.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Going to talk to her?”

“I don’t know, Dave.”

“Would you slug me if I told you to be a man?”

“I just might.”

“Aaron…be a man. Ask her if she’s pregnant.”

“Dave…you’re an ass.”

“Yeah, well, all my ex wives agree with that one.”

==

By the time he got home from Dave’s, Aaron had convinced himself that he wasn’t going to ask Haley anything. If she wasn’t ready to tell him, then she wasn’t ready, and he didn’t feel it was his place to pry. “Haley?” He called out as he stepped into the house. When no answer came, he wandered in the direction of her room, the sound of the shower running giving him a hint as to where she might be. “Haley?” He gripped the door knob and tried it, finding it unlocked. Opening the door to at least let her know he was in the house, so he didn’t startle her when she got out, he stuck his head in, surprise freezing him in place at the sight of her, naked, standing in the bedroom. “I’m…”

“Aaron!” She shrieked, grabbing her robe to cover herself.

His eyes were locked, however, onto her stomach. “You’re…”

“Out!” She rushed the door. “Out!” Using her shoulder, she slammed it shut on him, locking it after.

“Haley, we need to talk!” He called through the wood but got no answer. Suddenly frustrated, he turned, stalking into the kitchen to find a drink. Hesitating, he bypassed the beer and pulled some orange juice out of the fridge instead and poured a glass. He wanted to be clear headed for whatever conversation was coming. A half hour went by before Haley emerged, dressed in a blouse he could no tell was cut at least a size to big for the rest of her frame. “Would you like some juice?” He offered, forcing his voice to remain even. “I have orange out.”

“No, that’s okay.” She slipped into a chair. “Aaron, look I…”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” It burst out before he could reel it in. “Sorry.”

“I was going to.”

“Haley… What happened between us? We were so close once upon a time.”

“We were children, Aaron, and this isn’t a fairy tale. I don’t know when it happened, but the day I first saw Spencer I… I realized I love you and it ached in me, seeing you with him. I… I always fanaticized those other men were you… Somewhere along the way I wanted my husband to want me…”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Why? So, you could remind me you were gay? Aaron! I tried years ago and failed… When I finally got the news that I was pregnant, that I had this little piece of you inside me… I wanted to keep it for myself… I don’t know… Maybe because I couldn’t have you for myself… This baby is mine.”

“I know.” He twisted the glass on the table. “How… How far along are you?”

“Almost six months.” She answered softly.

He chewed his lip as he did the math. “How many tries did it take?”

“Three. We’d scheduled number four, but my numbers slowly started rising and the doctor wanted to wait. We don’t know if there’s a reason why it was so slow to show on a test, but so far the baby looks fine.”

“I could have been there for you…”

“It would have hurt worse, Aaron.”

“Six months… Do you know what it is?”

Haley’s eyes cast down to the table.

“Haley?”

“It’s a boy.”

“I’m getting a son?” He could feel a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Her eyes narrowed. “I’m having a son.”

“But, the agreement…”

“You can’t take my son from me, Aaron, he’s all I’ve got after all this. I’ll be a wonderful mother!”

He leaned back as she stood in a hurry. “I know, Haley.”

In a huff, she stormed out of the house.

==

A case came in before Haley came back home and Aaron stepped onto the jet reluctantly. It upset him that the conversation was left unfinished. In a quiet moment partway through the case, Aaron came clean to Spencer about what had happened. Worried, Spencer returned to his own room and dialed a number from memory, giving Dave a heads up about the situation. The older man sighed and made a frustrated sound before promising that he would look into it and to not worry.

It was the last either Dave or Spencer mentioned of the situation to Hotch for the next three months. By the time the case was over, Haley had stacked Aaron’s things by the door and had left a voicemail to collect them and leave. She wasn’t home on the day he came to collect everything, by design so she wouldn’t have to face him.

Aaron hated his new place, a tiny single-bedroom place, a bland crash-pad with no personal touches. Dave and Spencer visited in his off time, but Aaron filled his days with as much work as he could, leaving no time to wallow in the loss of the chance to prepare for his son. What he didn’t discover until the three months had passed, was that Dave, ever the meddler, had not let things go so easily.

A heavy knock on his office door in the middle of the afternoon, Aaron looked up to see Dave stepping in. “Dave! What’re you doing here?”

“My PI called, you need to take the afternoon.”

“What?”

“Haley left the house at dinnertime last night with her mother and sister, the PI didn’t think much of it and went to check on other people and come back, but when he came back, she still wasn’t home. Turns out they didn’t go to dinner, they took Haley to the hospital to have the baby.” He took in Aaron’s confused look. “I’m taking you to meet your son, Aaron. Stand up and follow me to my car.”

“O- okay.” Aaron did as he was told. An hour and a half later, he was standing with Dave at his side staring through a window at an impossibly tiny baby. “Is he mine?”

“Says Baby Hotchner on the card.”

“She gave him my last name…”

“He looks like you, poor kid.” Dave grinned. “He looks healthy.”

“Yeah.” After several long minutes of silence, Aaron walked away down the hall, finding a chair to sit in. “Dave, I need to ask you a favor.”

“Anything.”

“And I mean what I’m about to ask. No sneaking or being sly or anything. I need you to stick to it forever, no matter how much you think I might benefit from anything else.”

“Hey.” Dave placed his hands on Aaron’s shoulders. “Anything, son, anything in this world.”

“Have the PI stop tailing her. I don’t want any more information, I want a clean break. No updates on the baby, no news about him or her at all, okay?”

The request had him stunned. “Are you sure?”

Aaron nodded. “Let Haley have her life. I’ll make sure the attorney always has the funds to send her, but… I think I need to walk away, or this will kill me.”

“Don’t…. don’t you at least want a picture of the baby? Or to know his name?”

Aaron sagged forward, resting his head in his hands. “No.”

==

** Four Years Later **

==

Aaron had become depressed in the first year after walking away, but with the support of Spencer, who refused to give up on him, and Dave, he began to adjust to his new life as a single, unattached man for the first time ever. Work was work, but his evenings and weekends he devoted to other pleasures like working out and being with Spencer and the rest of the team. Every so often he would see a child at the park or in a store and a small part of his heart would tug in longing, but he had faith that Haley would be the kind of mother he knew she could be.

He didn’t fear the unknown there, that was, until a case from the past hit closer to home than ever and suddenly The Reaper was loose in and around DC, finding and killing couples outside his previous M.O., making it harder than ever to track him.

==

Dave did his best to keep up with Aaron’s long, angry strides through the halls of the building. “Aaron! This isn’t personal! Why are you making this personal!”

“Dave! I spent years tracking him and then I taunted him! I hung up on him and now he’s followed me back to DC and you don’t think I should take it personally?”

“There’s no way to know what he would’ve done if you hadn’t taunted him, Aaron. You’re too close to this!” He would have continued but Garcia was running toward them faster than seemed possible in her platform heels. “Foyet struck again!”

“Where?” The two men gave her their full attention, both reaching for the file in her hand, Dave nabbing it first. “He struck a house this time! He’s never struck in a house before!”

“Are you sure it’s him?” Dave opened the file to the fist set of photos. “Oh, dear lord.” When he felt Aaron start to look over his shoulder, he snapped the file shut. “It’s him, we’ve gotta go. Are they waiting for us at the scene?”

The blonde nodded. “They’re still processing the bodies, a man and a woman, the locals said there’s a bigger issue though, there’s evidence he’s abducted a child.”

Aaron frowned. “He’s never taken a child before, never done anything to a child.”

Dave dragged him toward the elevator. “Yeah, but this is different.” He managed to keep Aaron in the dark until they screeched to a stop in the street.

“Dave.”

“Yeah, Aaron.”

“This is Haley’s house.”

“I know, Aaron.”

“Haley’s…” In a flash, he was out of his seat, racing into and through the house until he found Haley in the upstairs bedroom, the room that had once been his. She’d been shot, point blank by the muzzle burns. Tears filled his eyes. “Haley… No…” He sank to his knees, pulling her close.

Dave finally caught up, huffing to catch his breath. “Her boyfriend, Adam West, his body is downstairs shoved in the pantry. He was carved up quite a bit and bled out.” Dave drew a deep breath and let it out. “Your son is missing.”

“My…my son… Foyet has my son…” He laid his ex-wife down.

“Neighbors report seeing a man carrying what looked like a sleeping boy into a car.”

“He has my son.”

“Aaron, come here. I want to show you something.” Carefully, he led Aaron down the hall and into the doorway of another room. This room was decorated top to carpet with superheroes. “I asked, they didn’t even make the connection to you until after they gave me the address, so far there’s no sign of you anywhere in this house. Foyet had to be researching you to find out about them.”

“He killed them because of me.”

“You can’t think like that.”

“They’re dead because of me!”

“Right now, we have to assume your son’s alive, Aaron. We need to work the profile and figure out where he would have taken him.”

“Right…” He didn’t look away from the room.

“Aaron…” He waited until the other man looked up. “His name’s Jack.”

“Jack…”

==

It took three more days to find where Foyet had holed up, but when they found him, the team plus SWAT and as many local officers as were able surrounded and stormed the warehouse, taking the entire building in a matter of moments. Above all the noise of gunfire and shouting, Spencer picked up on the sound of screeching cries coming from the trunk of a car parked in the corner. Popping the latch, he opened it to find a very distraught blonde little boy freaking out inside. “Hey, hi.” He tried to get the boy’s attention. “Hi, are you Jack?”

The boy quieted, staring at Spencer a minute before nodding.

“Hi, Jack, my name is Spencer. I’m here looking for you.”

Jack hiccoughed. “Where’s the bad man?”

Spencer looked over his shoulder at the remained of Foyet across the room. “He can’t hurt you ever again.”

“Where’s Mommy?”

“You’re Mommy… The bad man hurt your Mommy a lot, Jack, the kind of hurt you can’t get better from.”

“I want Mommy!”

“I-I’m sorry, Jack. I’m really sorry.”

Jack began to kick and scream anew. “I want Mommy!”

Dave had crossed the room when he realized Spencer had the boy. “Hey, Jack. I’m sorry we can’t give you your Mommy, but your Daddy is here.”

“I don’t have a Daddy.”

His heart clenched. “You have a Daddy, Jack, he’s come here to save you from the bad man.” Dave turned, waving Aaron, still in his vest and carrying his gun, over.

Aaron was still tucking his gun away as he came into view, Jack’s eyes widened as he started to scream. “No! You’re a bad man!”

Hotch froze, horrified.

“He’s not a bad man, Jack.” Dave tried. “He stopped the bad man.”

“No!” The boy continued to thrash and shout until JJ and Emily rushed over, JJ’s maternal instincts pulling the boy close and carrying him out to the waiting ambulances.

“It’ll be okay, Aaron.” Dave started once the area was quiet again. “He’ll come around.”

“What if he never does? He doesn’t know me. He… I’m a total stranger to him.” He put his hands out. “How am I supposed to raise him?”

Spencer took one hand. “We’ll all do it together.”

==

The week between Haley’s death and her funeral, JJ had ended up taking Jack home with her as it seemed Henry’s presence calmed him. After the funeral, Aaron plus Haley’s family was called into the attorney’s office who held her will and her family was irate to learn that she left Jack wholly and completely to Aaron. Aaron found himself relying heavily on his team to help him navigate becoming a father so quickly. His apartment was too small, and Jack wanted little to do with him, so Dave insisted that for the time being father and son move into his place.

Spencer found someone willing to sublet Hotch’s place in one of his chess groups. In his free time that wasn’t spent now at Dave’s, Spencer worked to compile a list of suitable apartments for Aaron to see. When he was at Dave’s, he tried to be as unobtrusive as possible, only pulling close to Aaron once he knew Jack wasn’t around, which wasn’t hard as the small boy still silently stared at his father whenever they were in the same room together.

The team carried on spending free time at the mansion and helping where they could until after the holidays when other responsibilities slowly eased them back into old routines. They couldn’t believe that they’d never known Hotch had a kid, but they could see the love pouring out for his hurting son.

As February was underway, Jack’s nightmares still hadn’t abated. When they came, he would cry out until Dave turned up and laid down with him, the routine wore on the older man, but he wasn’t about to deny the hurting boy comfort.

A night came, though, when Jack’s nightmare came, and he cried out in the darkness, and as always, three men trudged to his room as Dave sat on his bed. “No! I want Daddy!”

The three men froze before two turned to the third. This was the first time in months that Jack had acknowledged Aaron was his father in any way.

“Daddy come cuddle.”

Gently, Spencer pressed a kiss to Aaron’s cheek. “Go, I won’t wait up.” With that, the other two men left father and son alone.

As he crawled into the bed beside Jack, Aaron felt overwhelmed at the loving life he’d somehow managed to build without even realizing it. A great, supportive best friend, friends, an understanding boyfriend, a son… Pulling his son close, he kissed his head.  “I love you Jack, Daddy loves you.”

“I wuv you too, Daddy.”

From the dark doorway, Aaron swore he heard Spencer whisper. “I love you both.”


End file.
